Back to Zero
by L.R.T
Summary: Conspiracies. Love. Sex. Betrayal. Illegitimate children. Attempted murder. Some things at Team Rocket never change. Rocketshippy. GiovannixMiyamoto. Neoshippy. Brief exposure to GiovannixDelia, JessiexButch, GiovannixCassidy, multiple random Rocket pairings. Rating for adult themes, situations, and violence. IN PROGRESS.
1. Business Ethics

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>It took a few years for her to climb the ranks of Team Rocket. It seemed an eternity to her; she lacked patience and wanted immediate results, praise, and glory. Once she had, however, it all seemed to be worth it. She was <em>the<em> top-ranked agent, hands down. If there was a big job to be done, she was the one that was sent on it with all of Team Rocket's resources at her disposal. Madame Boss trusted her with things her own son was in the dark about - yet he was the one that was to be groomed to take over the organization upon her death, as it currently stood.

Things were shifting, however; Giovanni cared more about partaking in the sweet, illegal nectars that having such a powerful mother allowed. He was ungrateful. He didn't understand that everything she had done, she had done _for him_. Creating an empire wasn't an easy task, after all. Madame Boss was sure that he would happily want to take the reins as soon as possible, perhaps even before her death, so she could sit back and enjoy all that she had done in her life with the knowledge that her son would carry on the legacy and do it proud. This wasn't coming to pass as she had anticipated.

Giovanni, a young man at the age of twenty, hated the fact that his future was planned for him. He skipped important meetings for the company and with his mother where he was supposed to be learning how Team Rocket ran and what a boss needed - and was expected - to do. He stayed out all night, sleeping with one girl after the other, getting drunk and taking a black market drug made from stun spore. To his credit, he would always steal whatever money or Pokemon his interest of the night had on her but the all-powerful leader of an organization like Team Rocket that did not make.

Madame Boss was growing tired of her son's antics. He was her only child and, truth be told, she _had_ spoiled him a bit; but things were getting serious now and he needed to buckle down and accept what had been laid out before him - a dynasty. Unfortunately, Giovanni didn't understand (or didn't care) how important the situation was. This lead Madame Boss to do some critical thinking and inevitably do something that broke her heart.

After talking to several legal experts, she had papers drawn up. Very rarely did a woman of such power get a case of the nerves, but as she called in her top-ranked agent to her office that day, she tapped her foot incessantly against the carpeted floor. She was out of ideas after this. If her agent refused the deal she was giving her, Giovanni would end up inheriting the company and running it into the ground. He would end up getting arrested and spending most of his life in prison. While that wasn't a tragic thought to his mother at the moment, she refused to have her empire go down in flames because of her incompetent, ungrateful child. She had to give it a chance to live and prosper...a chance for her legacy to live and prosper and not become the butt of a joke.

Jarred out of her thoughts by a knock at the large, wooden door of her office, Madame Boss stood and called, "Come in, Miyamoto."

After a one last quick check of her hair and lipstick, Miyamoto entered and shut the large door behind her, getting ready to go and take her usual seat on the plush couch by the wall but stopping upon seeing Madame Boss standing. She stood there awkwardly, glancing around the office, waiting for her boss's orders. This was usually how their meetings went - without Madame Boss's standing, which was strange in itself. Miyamoto walked in, Madame Boss gave her orders, and off she went. It was done in a quick, timely manner because Miyamoto didn't need things explained to her - she did whatever she saw fit to complete her mission and as long as no one ended up arrested, money wasn't lost, and Madame Boss got what she wanted in the end, no one seemed to care.

Madame Boss finally broke the silence. "I'd like to talk to you about something, Miyamoto."

"Oh," she said rather stupidly, blinking.

"I've been thinking about this for a little while, now," Madame Boss began, walking around to the front of her desk, leaning on it, "and while it pains me to do this, I feel that I have no choice."

Miyamoto's heart sank. "Are you - are you _firing_ me, sir?"

Madame Boss laughed, waving her hand in dismissal of such a ridiculous question. "I would never do a such a thing. Nothing would get done in this place if it weren't for you."

"Oh." Miyamoto blinked again, utterly confused now. "Well, if this isn't about firing me, then what _is_ it about, sir?"

Reaching back to her desk, Madame Boss took the legal documents she'd had drawn up and held them out for Miyamoto. "I want you to run this organization, Miyamoto. I want you to be my successor."

Gingerly, Miyamoto took the papers, afraid they might fall to pieces and Madame Boss would change her mind just as quickly as she'd made it up. "I - I - I don't know what to say -"

"Say yes. Sign those documents."

"Madame Boss, what about your son?"

She snorted, crossing her arms and turning her head, looking out the row of windows across the other wall of her office. "He's not ready for this. I doubt he ever will be. He doesn't care about Team Rocket or the fact that I _created it_ for _him_. All he cares about is himself. He would ruin this organization and my family's reputation. I won't have it and I certainly won't have him act the way he does and still expect to get his inheritance." Madame Boss walked over to Miyamoto, who was still in shock and staring down at the papers, literally holding her future in her hands. "You're more like my own than he is, Miyamoto. You know everything there is to know about this company - possibly more than even I do."

"I doubt that..." she murmured softly.

"I know that this is asking something very big of you. This will change your life forever. I'll let you have a little time to look over the papers, think about it - but don't dally! I won't let this offer hang in the air forever."

Miyamoto nodded, swallowing hard and somehow managing to look up at her and smile slightly. "I'll give you an answer tomorrow, sir."

Madame Boss nodded as well and turned around, heading back to her desk. "Keep this under your hat, Miyamoto. Gossip runs rampant here and the last thing I need is Giovanni finding out about this and throwing a tantrum."

"You have my word." Miyamoto bowed low.

* * *

><p>Miyamoto stayed in her room the rest of the day, looking over the paperwork. She didn't understand much of it - most of it, in fact - but couldn't imagine Madame Boss would be screwing her over after so many years of loyal service. Then again, she <em>was<em> screwing over her own son.

A knock at the door prompted her to sit back and rub her eyes for a moment, getting away from what seemed like endless miles of text. She got up and went to her door, opening it with a hand on her hip. "Cyrus," she said with a sigh.

A young man about Giovanni's age stood at her door, blue hair a mess, and he grinned nervously at her. "Miyamoto! You're coming out tonight, right? You promised, remember?"

Miyamoto made a face. "I've been reading something for the boss all day. I don't feel like -"

"Miyamoto," he interrupted, "one of these days, you'll have to make good on that promise to let me take you out."

"A promise I can't seem to remember making..." Miyamoto smirked.

"I have witnesses!" Cyrus protested.

Letting out another heavy sigh, Miyamoto rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I might as well get it over with sooner rather than later. Let me get cleaned up."

"No, no. You look fine! We're just heading to the usual spot."

She wrinkled her nose, looking down at herself. Before she could open her mouth to protest, Cyrus had her by the hand and was dragging her out the door, barely giving her time to close it behind her.

* * *

><p>The "usual spot" was deep in the basement of Team Rocket headquarters; past boxes piled to the ceiling and other junk unidentifiable in the low light given by flickering, buzzing overhead lights. A part of the basement that had hand-recognition technology implemented on a large, steel door (for what, not even Miyamoto knew) had been transformed into a night club for all ranking members and anyone else Giovanni thought deserved a taste of the Team Rocket lifestyle. Whatever had been there before and needed such security was long-gone, replaced with dark paint, a flashy dance floor, stereo equipment, tables and a bar, and strobe lights that immediately made Miyamoto's already tired eyes want to jump out of her head.<p>

Giovanni was under the impression that his mother was oblivious to his little club and it never ceased to amuse Miyamoto when he would act like he owned the place, act as though he were outsmarting Madame Boss so completely when she knew his mother knew all about it and just preferred to have him under _her_ roof sometimes rather than gone every night. She also felt it was a good idea to keep the members relaxed and let them blow off some steam in a way that wouldn't get them arrested. It was all about her having total control and power over the situation - even if no one knew she was watching.

The place seemed to have gotten sleazier since she'd last been there but then again, so had Giovanni. She spotted him almost immediately sitting in a plush booth with about five girls around him, two of which weren't even members of Team Rocket. He was lining up shot glasses but had taken a break to apparently "light up." There were plenty of things to smoke and get high off of - Oddish leaves, pretty much any of the stuff growing on the back of a Venusaur, Tangelas had something to them, too but that was expensive - not that that would bother Giovanni any.

"He's such a pig," Miyamoto said abruptly, glaring at him as they took stools at the bar.

Cyrus followed her gaze and made a face at what he saw. "He's the definition of spoiled little rich kid, all right."

She bit her lip, glancing around before leaning in to Cyrus with a smirk. "Won't be that way for much longer."

Raising an eyebrow as she ordered her drink and demanded they keep coming, he leaned in to her now. "What are you talking about?"

Taking her martini glass, she turned on the stool to watch Giovanni lick an unknown substance off one of the girls' necks. "Because I'm going to ruin him." Miyamoto smiled and lifted her glass to Cyrus. "Cheers!"


	2. The Stork Exchange

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>One eye opened and darted around, taking in the surroundings.<p>

Everything was doused in dark purple, velvet, satin. Even the curtains that were pulled shut to keep out the harsh light of an already busy Viridian City day were made of the finest material - and purple, of course. Scanning across the room despite the sharp pain it caused to zap down her eye, Miyamoto realized that she'd never been here before and yet...there was something familiar about it. Not in a comforting way, either.

She opened both eyes and looked down, then immediately fought the urge to vomit.

"Awake, I see," he observed from the velvet couch across from the bed and she wondered how she could have missed him on her first scan of the room. Then again, his silk robe _did_ make him blend into the couch as though it were camouflage; and maybe it was. Maybe he was just as horrified as she was at what had obviously transpired and had wanted to hide, wait until he had the upper hand and use it.

She hated being knocked squarely on her ass. By the likes of him, no less. Maybe he wasn't the utter waste of space that his mother thought he was, after all.

"How I wish I weren't," she retorted, wrapping the bedsheets around herself and once again looking around the room for her clothes from the night before. What the hell was she even wearing? Her uniform? Civvies?

Giovanni snorted, not bothering to move from his comfortable position on the couch; head propped up on two pillows and an ice pack on his head. "There are worse places to wake up after something like this, you know."

Eying him warily, she slowly got up out of bed, trying to keep the sheets securely around herself - not that it mattered now but she'd be damned if he saw any more than he already did. She found the clothes she'd be wearing the night before and, putting the covers over her head for privacy, began to dress. "Like a dumpster?"

"I was about to say gutter but if you know from experience, we'll go along with dumpster."

Underwear and pants on, she tugged the covers off over her head, glaring at him. "I wouldn't _know_ from experience. I'd be willing to bet the Miltank farm that you do, though. Or at the very least the girls you choose to spend your time with do."

"Well, last night I chose to spend my time with you, number one. Number two..." He rolled over on his side, holding the ice pack on his forehead with one hand as he looked at her the short distance from the bed to the couch. "You'd probably be more willing to bet the company, right?"

Miyamoto was halfway done tugging her shirt down when her heart stopped and eyes widened, her whole body tensed up. It was Giovanni, it was possible that was bluffing and didn't actually know anything. Then again, she was apparently drunk enough the night before to actually sleep with the bastard, who knows what else she did? Or said?

Pulling her shirt the rest of the way down and running her hands through her hair, she swung her legs over to the side of the bed. "Do I look like I own this company?"

"Not yet," he said, rolling back onto his back, closing his eyes. "When mother dies, though...you're in for quite the windfall, aren't you?"

Her jaw dropped, heart that had once stopped now pounding in her chest and ears. Standing abruptly she went over to him and grabbed the ice pack, throwing it aside and pulling open the curtains directly above him. He winced and groaned, muttering "bitch" under his breath. She placed her hand on his neck, leaning down face-to-face with him. "What the fuck did you do to me last night?"

"Nothing you didn't want," Giovanni spat, glaring at her.

"You spiked my drink, didn't you, you son of a bitch!" Miyamoto removed her hand from his neck and slapped him, backing away from him.

Sitting up, he smirked, rubbing his neck. "I take it I've hit the nail on the head, here, haven't I? I didn't do anything to you. You came over to me and started talking. The more drinks you had, the more the talking became flirting. That little snot Cyrus tried to stop you and pull you away from the booth that had quickly become just you and me but you said something to him, hell if I remember or care. He ran off, heartbroken. You can be so cruel, Miyamoto, really."

"Oh, god," she murmured under her breath, closing her eyes.

"The rest is history. Not long after we came back here. Of course, on the way here you just about told me your entire life story...including my mother's very gracious offer." Giovanni shrugged, resting back against the couch. "Honestly, it made me want to fuck you all the more."

"What?" Miyamoto asked in spite of herself.

"Because I could screw you both at once," he laughed. "You think I won't blackmail the hell out of you for this? I have witnesses to attest to everything I'm saying and, well...I'm sure when I start going into detail about our torrid night together, the look on your face will be all the proof mother needs to put you out on your ass, however stunning it might be."

Swallowing hard, Miyamoto crossed her arms. "So what do you want me to do?" she asked quietly.

"Don't sign the fucking thing! I don't care what excuse you make up but if I find out you agreed to her offer...everything you've worked for in this company - the _respect_ - will disappear just as fast as it came. You'll be _nothing_."

Miyamoto fought back her tears, determined not to cry in front of _him_. "Consider it done." Grabbing her shoes, she didn't even bother to put them on until she was out of his penthouse entirely, sinking to the ground with her head in her hands, finally letting the tears loose.

* * *

><p>"She's pissed at me," Miyamoto lamented to Cyrus, pacing around her room as he sat on her bed.<p>

It had been two and a half months since Giovanni began blackmailing her and since she turned down Madame Boss's offer. Madame Boss was so disappointed, Miyamoto had to bite her tongue to keep from telling her what her son was doing right then and there. She knew that, in the end, Giovanni was right and that even if she were honest about the whole thing, Madame Boss would never let some harlot that slept with her son run her company and it would either go to someone else she trusted or right back to Giovanni.

Giovanni and Miyamoto's relationship was non-existent except for a few knowing glares and cordial nods in passing. The entire organization was none the wiser about their tryst and both wanted it to stay that way; Miyamoto out of shame and Giovanni so he still had his leverage.

Cyrus and Miyamoto made up quickly. He decided to blame everything on Giovanni and that was just fine with her. It wasn't that far from the truth, anyway.

In the two months that had passed Miyamoto hadn't been given as many jobs as she usually was. In fact, some were whispering that she was flat-out being passed up because some had the expert agent written all over them and yet were given other, less experienced ones. She didn't know what to do herself and wandering around the building could lead to a run-in with Giovanni - same with going to the club downstairs. So she mostly stayed in her room, waiting patiently to be called. So far, that call had yet to come.

"You don't know that," Cyrus replied soothingly. "She might just be giving others a chance for once."

"Since when is Madame Boss about equal opportunities?"

"I don't know! Maybe you rejecting her made her rethink relying on just one person."

Miyamoto frowned, sitting down at her desk. "I didn't - I didn't _reject_ her..."

"Then why _did you_ decline that deal, Miyamoto?"

"It doesn't matter now. All that matters now is that this whole stupid situation is making me make myself sick."

Cyrus frowned, reaching across and putting his hand on her knee. "Sick?"

"Oh, you know. Worry vomiting I think it is."

"What? Worry vomiting?"

Miyamoto nodded and sighed. "Sometimes it'll just hit me, you know? And I have to run to the bathroom and throw up. I probably have an ulcer the size of a Geodude in there."

"I don't know, Miyamoto...that doesn't sound like you. Some people might worry themselves to that point but you never have. You've always had a firm grasp on every situation you've been in."

"This situation is different, Cyrus."

"Yeah, I think it is."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just - I think you should go to the doctor, that's all."

"What? Why? Do you think I have a tumor or something? Cyrus, you have to tell me if you think you know what's wrong with me!" Miyamoto asserted, standing up.

"Okay, um...look at your calendar..."

"Why? There's nothing there. That's the whole point!"

"Right...exactly..."

"Cyrus, I am really about ready to kick you the fuck out -"

"Miyamoto! Your periods! Have you had a period!" Cyrus said in a outburst, then put his hand over his mouth, blushing.

Blinking for a second, she reached across her desk and took her calendar, flipping through it slowly. She then counted days - not that she needed to, she already knew the culprit - and slowly sat down next to Cyrus on her bed. "Oh my god..."

"I - I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just...say it like that..."

"No, no...it's good that you did, I would never..." she trailed off, looking down at the calendar.

"Do you know?" Cyrus asked after several minutes of quiet, hoping she got his meaning and he didn't have to explain any further.

Miyamoto nodded slightly, still in disbelief.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't -"

"Remember when I said I would ruin Giovanni?"

"Oh. Yeah...that was a...really strange night."

"Well, it didn't happen the way I planned or when I planned it but...it's about to finally happen."


	3. Mother's Day

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>The silence in the exam room was almost as deathly cold as the table Miyamoto sat on.<p>

By her side stood Cyrus and tucked away in a corner of the room, arms and legs crossed, scowling the whole while sat Giovanni. She kept her hand on Cyrus's arm to keep him from going after him whenever their eyes happened to meet and Giovanni merely smirked at him, knowing it must be driving him mad - the mental pictures in his head of the girl of his dreams with the guy he despised so much; and yet he'd gotten further with Miyamoto in ten minutes than Cyrus had in all the years he'd known her. Wasn't that the rub?

Getting Giovanni to come with them to the doctor had been nothing short of a nightmare. He did everything Miyamoto expected - denied it was his, accused her of wanting back into the company, accused her of simply just wanting _money_. It wasn't until all parties agreed that no one would breathe a word that Giovanni had anything to do with this child, let alone was the father, that they made their way to the on-site infirmary at headquarters.

Throughout Miyamoto's exam, the doctor kept giving Giovanni strange looks and side-glances and now part of the reason he was in such a piss-poor mood was because he knew he would have to pay this quack off to keep his mouth shut that he was ever there. Miyamoto claimed not to know who the father was but that she was pretty certain of the conception date, which put her at about three months. The doctor suggested an ultrasound and had left the room to get it, leaving the trio alone for the first time.

"Look, I don't need to be here for this," Giovanni said suddenly, standing.

"You didn't need to be here for any of it," Cyrus retorted.

"What? What are you talking about?" Miyamoto kicked her leg up, resting it against the sink and blocking Giovanni's only way out. "If anything this is the only part you _should_ be here for!"

Giovanni grit his teeth, shutting his eyes. "Miyamoto, if you don't move your fucking leg -"

"You'll what?" Cyrus interjected. "Not that I'd put it past you to smack around a pregnant girl."

He laughed slightly, rubbing a hand over his face and then pointing at Cyrus. "She's the only thing keeping me from knocking you unconscious right now, you realize that, right?"

"Her nails have been digging into my arm ever since you sat down," he replied, glaring at Giovanni.

"God, will you both stop it?" Miyamoto cried, using her grip on Cyrus to shove him away from her and kicking Giovanni back toward his chair. "I'm having a _baby_, here! _His_ devil child, to be exact," she said, pointing to Giovanni, "so it would be really nice if, in spite of that, I could have something resembling _calm_!"

"Why do you even want me here if you're just going to insult me?" Giovanni asked.

"It wasn't an insult, it was the truth. And I _want you here_ because I didn't magically make a baby all by myself. You have to do something for us, even if it's in secret."

"I don't see what I'm doing for you by standing around here."

"You're seeing your kid for the first time, you useless -"

"Cyrus," Miyamoto cut him off, frowning at him.

The door to the exam room opened before anyone entered. The three exchanged glances with each other, Cyrus trying to peer down the hall when the doctor and a nurse wheeled in a large ultrasound machine, nearly squishing Cyrus up against the wall in the process. Placing it next to the exam table, the doctor nodded to Miyamoto. "All right, then. Just lay back and pull up your shirt just a bit. My nurse, here will put some of this jelly on your stomach while I fire this up and then we'll be all ready to make sure your baby is developing properly!"

Glancing back and forth between Cyrus and Giovanni, Miyamoto sighed and did as she was told, jumping a bit when the jelly was squeezed on her stomach. Glaring at the nurse, she muttered, "Could have had a little warning..." The nurse simply yawned and stepped back to let the doctor do his job, leaning back against the wall. Giovanni immediately made eye contact with her and nodded at her, smirking slightly. The nurse giggled, biting her lip and batting her eyes back at him. Miyamoto glared harder. "I think I'm going to puke."

The doctor looked up from his work and shook his head. "Oh, no. The jelly shouldn't make you do that."

Miyamoto shut her eyes tightly. "Can we just get this over with, please?"

Shrugging, the doctor placed the ultrasound wand on Miyamoto's stomach and began to move it around, looking at the image on the screen that came up as he did so. Miyamoto kept her eyes closed while Giovanni continued to flirt with the nurse from across the room and Cyrus watched the ultrasound screen intently. Suddenly the sound of a loud, strong heartbeat filled the room and she opened her eyes, looking up at the doctor. Even Giovanni stopped making eyes at the nurse and turned his attention to the machine, startled. "Well, there's no doubt that your baby certainly has a strong heartbeat, is there?" the doctor said with a chuckle.

"That's...I mean, I know it is but..." Miyamoto trailed off, daring to look up at the screen. "Is it up there?"

"Of course!" The doctor then traced the outline of the baby with his finger, making Cyrus squint and tilt his head to try and make something out of the grainy, black and white mess. "Unfortunately, it's a bit too early in the pregnancy for me to tell the sex of the baby but from what I can tell here, everything seems to be developing at a normal rate and your baby is doing just fine, Miyamoto."

"Can I get that?" Miyamoto asked, pointing at the screen.

The doctor smiled and nodded as he stood, the nurse offering her some paper towels to wipe her stomach off with which Miyamoto took begrudgingly. After wheeling the ultrasound machine back out and leaving the three alone once again, the cold, sterile silence that had enveloped them before had now shifted into simple speechlessness.

"I didn't see it," Cyrus said at last, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing slightly.

"I'll show it to you on the picture," Miyamoto replied.

"I saw it," Giovanni said flatly, stomach somewhere around his ankles at the sight and sound of his child - his own flesh and blood. Could something so small and seemingly meaningless really be inside there with the heartbeat of a true Team Rocket warrior?

"Shocking, what with your eyes more interested in the nurse and her bedside manner," Miyamoto said with annoyance. Not receiving a snarky remark back, she got down off the exam table and looked at Giovanni, noticing the color having left his face. Going over to him, she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Just wait until I look like I swallowed a Jigglypuff and it starts kicking, _daddy_."

Giovanni swatted her away, turning his back to her and the door and not saying anything or moving as she received a picture of the ultrasound and doctor's orders. The doctor remained once Cyrus and Miyamoto had left, closing the door behind him. It was then Giovanni turned abruptly, going up to the older man and grabbing him by the collar, pushing him up against the door. "I wasn't here, you understand that? My mother so much as _mentions_ a visit to the doctor, you're done. Not only here. Not only in the medical field - on this _planet_. Do I make myself _perfectly_ fucking clear?"

The doctor nodded, shaken, relieved when Giovanni let him drop to the ground and quickly getting out of the way when the young man placed his hand on the door knob to leave but stopped himself. Quietly, he requested, "And I'd like a picture of that ultrasound, too."

* * *

><p>The next six months went by surprisingly smoothly with the exception of having to tell Madame Boss that she was with child. Just when Miyamoto thought that she'd seen her most disappointed face, Madame Boss came out with another one. It broke Miyamoto's heart that she was breaking her boss's heart so deeply but at the end of the day, her deal with Giovanni was still in place and even if she came clean now, what good would it do her? The bond and trust that they'd once had was now broken, shattered the second she declined to be her successor and there was no going back and changing it. Their relationship was forever altered.<p>

She ended up being put in the small housing development that lined the way from headquarters to the on-site warehouse, about three shoddy-at-best little shacks on either side. They were where the poor idiots who thought they could have it all - love, family _and_ success - were exiled. It was a place Miyamoto never saw herself and now that she was there, looking around what had to be the smallest of the six houses while Cyrus carried in what few belongings she'd managed to acquire in her years at Team Rocket, she wanted to turn and run. Running away was never her style and this was the first time in recent memory that such a wave of needing to get the fuck out of a certain place had swept over her so profoundly.

Cyrus must have noticed because he dropped whatever he was carrying and rushed her side, putting his arms around her. "Miyamoto! Are you okay?"

She shook her head, leaning against him who, in turn, leaned against the doorframe of the house. "I can't do this, Cyrus."

"Sure you can. You're the strongest person I know."

Miyamoto simply shook her head again, faster this time. "It wasn't supposed to be this way! This isn't my _life_!"

Leading her into the modest kitchen that bled into the even more modest living area, Cyrus pulled out a chair for her. "It's all right, it's all right. You're not alone in this."

"Then why do I feel like such shit?" she spat back at him.

Sighing heavily, he turned and went back to bringing in the rest of Miyamoto's things and getting her set up in her new place - without much help or effort from the house's new occupant.

* * *

><p>Giovanni stood in his doorway and stared, hand reaching up to grasp the top part of the molding and give himself balance.<p>

A very pregnant Miyamoto stood across from him, her stomach almost protruding itself into his personal space. "Are you inviting me in or what?"

"What?" Giovanni blinked and shook his head, stepping aside and watching her as she waddled inside his penthouse suite, still staring as he closed the door behind her. "You're fucking huge."

Miyamoto narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, thank you. I wasn't aware of that as I've gone blind and lost all the feeling beneath my neck."

"Look, I've been meaning to come by -"

"But then what would the sluts do? I understand," she said, making herself comfortable on his couch. "How many of these velvet couches do you _own_?"

"It's not that, Miyamoto!" Giovanni sighed, rubbing his hands over his face and sitting down on the coffee table across from her on the couch. "You really think I'm a piece of shit, don't you?"

Miyamoto shrugged, resting back into the comfort she wasn't used to in her own home. "You haven't been around in two months. The baby's due any day now. I don't know what to think."

"If I could be there, I would be there, okay?"

"What's stopping you?"

"_Mother_."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me."

Giovanni stood, tossing his hands in the air. "All of a sudden she wants me back learning everything about the company. I haven't had a moment's peace except to sleep - which you interrupted, by the way."

"A thousand pardons," she said sarcastically.

"It's the timing, Miyamoto. The timing! She knows something. She knows everything."

"I'm not even in your mother's peripheral vision anymore. I doubt she's been marking off the days until I'm due to give birth with the insane notion that it might be yours, only to give you busywork and keep you away from me." Miyamoto shook her head and crossed her arms, resting them on her stomach. "That's not how she works. If she knew something - even _suspected_ - she would slowly torture you by dropping little hints here and there and making you sweat until you confessed."

Giovanni sat back down on the arm of the couch. "You're absolutely right."

"Of course I am. Do you know how many times I was an interrogator for that woman?" Making a face, she shifted against the couch, adjusting her position.

Watching her from his perch on the arm of the couch, eyes traveling her body before looking back at her stomach, Giovanni shut his eyes and put his head back. "_Fuck_."

Miyamoto looked at him, surprised. "What's your problem?"

"You're in labor!"

She stared at him for a few moments before bursting out laughing. "Really? _Really_? You have the nerve to tell me when _I'm_ in labor?"

"You just shifted with a pained look on your face against my couch cushions. _Of course_ you're going to give birth in my penthouse."

"Like hell I am!" she said, struggling to push herself up and off the couch.

Rolling his eyes, Giovanni helped her up but didn't let go of her. "They aren't Braxton Hicks when you're nine months pregnant!"

Miyamoto frowned at him, yanking her arm away. "Well...it's been a day and nothing! So it must be -"

"So you must be ready to burst, you fucking -"

"Fine, then get me the hell out of here and to the infirmary if you're so worried!" Grabbing onto Giovanni's shoulder, she put her other hand on her stomach, making another face.

"We don't have time for that! Come on," he said, helping her into his bedroom and into his bed, still the same as she remembered, all satin and silk. "Now get yourself...ready...down there."

Miyamoto's eyes widened with the sudden realization of just _what_ he was planning on doing. "Giovanni, for fuck's sake! Call someone! You can't do this!"

Caught up in the moment - the fear, the adrenaline, the fact that his baby was about to be here delivered by his own hands in a few minutes - Giovanni put his hand on the back of her head, leaned down and kissed her passionately, fingers tangling in the purple hair that he suddenly found himself hoping their kid would have if it turned out to be a little girl. Not giving her time to pull away or even slap him, he ended the kiss first and looked into her wide, shocked eyes. "Trust me," he said in a tone that neither had heard from him before. "Just this once."

Caught up in her own moment - fear, adrenaline, pain, and then the former being quelled by the strangest, least likely of sources - all Miyamoto could do was nod and stare back into his eyes, a silent trust formed between them in that moment that she knew would take something like Giovanni reverting back to his old ways to break. "Just tell me what to do."

Giovanni nodded and took a deep breath, focusing on the task at hand. "Like I said, get out of your underwear and pull up your dress. I have to -" he stopped himself, not particularly wanting to get into the specifics of what he had to check for. "Just do it."

Her compliance surprised both herself and Giovanni, another contraction coming on while his head was under her dress, legs spread - not unlike how the baby was made in the first place, she thought to herself through the pain and clenched teeth. "How - how do you even know...what you're doing?" she panted once the pain had stopped and Giovanni was out from under her dress, propping up pillows behind her.

"Let's just say I've delivered things before."

"_Things_?"

Going into his bathroom, he kept talking to her as he grabbed several fresh, clean towels and made a cool washcloth for Miyamoto's forehead, "It's not important right now." He brought the items back to an outraged Miyamoto, mouth open and ready to rip him a new one about the importance of his skills at the moment but he quickly placed the washcloth on her head and looked back into her eyes the way he had before. "Eggs, okay? Pokemon eggs. It's something Team Rocket has been working on and if you happen to get the right Pokemon together at the right time, it results in an egg."

"Pokemon lay eggs?" Miyamoto asked, grateful for the distraction from her current situation.

"We weren't sure of that at first. They would simply just show up. Then some of the smaller Pokemon had trouble. The eggs are always the same size. Imagine having the same size egg as a Rhydon if you're an Eevee."

"Well, it's certainly making _this_ sound a whole lot easier..."

Giovanni moved back to his spot at the end of the bed and spread her legs once again. "I had to help them deliver, so to speak. All of the signs really aren't much different than the ones we humans have, especially with the more primate-based Pokemon."

Miyamoto continued to listen intently, staring down at him, impressed and feeling slight guilt over the fact that she hadn't believed him when he said his mother was working him to exhaustion. Still, she never expected to hear that the great Giovanni was off delivering Pokemon babies - and now a real one, his own at that! "So that's how you knew something was wrong."

"That," he said, popping his head up to look up at her with a smirk, "and you fucked up my velvet couch when your water broke."

She smirked back. "Can't say I was hoping you wouldn't see that."

"I would never -" Giovanni was cut off by another contraction from Miyamoto, making him duck his head back down. "All right, just breathe through it. Next one? You have to push."

Pressing her head back against the pillows propping her up, eyes squeezed shut, she nodded slightly, hands gripping the sides of the bed. "Oh, god. I should hate you for this, shouldn't I?"

"Probably," he replied, not moving from his spot at the end of the bed, waiting for the next contraction.

Opening her eyes, she looked down at him, breathing hard once again after the intense pain. "So why don't I?"

"Wait until you're pushing. You'll hate me then, I'm sure."

"You think?" Miyamoto asked, genuinely unsure and wanting some kind of comfort at the moment - even if it just meant that she would hate Giovanni in a few seconds.

He placed a towel under where the baby would be coming, nodding along as he did so. Looking up at her, he took a deep breath. "One's coming. Push for me as hard as you can, okay?"

"How can you -" Cut off by another contraction, body tensing and hands gripping the bed once more, she leaned forward and did as she was told until the contraction was over, falling back against the pillows. Giovanni didn't comment and she looked downward. "Say something to me!"

"That - it was good. You did good. Keep doing that when I say to."

"Well you should have said that!"

"The baby's crowning, all right? I was..." he trailed off, another contraction hitting and the two going through the motions once again, Miyamoto pushing hard and not bothering to conceal her pain, unmedicated with her legs spread wider than any crude comment she'd heard over the past few months about herself around headquarters.

Within a few short minutes and pushes, there was a new shrieking in the room. Giovanni wrapped the baby in one of the towels to keep it warm, using the others to gently wipe some of the blood and fluid off of her face. Awkwardly, he laid the still-screaming baby in Miyamoto's arms. "It's a girl." He laughed a little, watching her kick and scream despite Miyamoto's best efforts to soothe her. "I think she'll end up having your hair."

Miyamoto held the tiny baby girl close, having thought by now that some kind of motherly instinct would have kicked in and she'd be able to calm her down with just one touch. "Why - why won't she stop crying?"

"Because she's your daughter," Giovanni replied as he wiped his hands on a towel, going over to the phone.

"What are you doing? Who are you calling?"

"Your doctor. You can't just stay attached at the cord like that and I sure as hell won't be cutting it. Besides, she should be checked out."

"What about _mother_? If she wasn't suspicious before -"

"Let me handle mother," he said sternly, dialing the number to the infirmary.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I wasn't there for it," Cyrus lamented, sitting next to Miyamoto, the new baby girl in her arms. The only time she'd left her mother's arms was to be checked out and given a clean bill of health.<p>

"You can be there for everything else now, though," she reassured him, looking down at the sleeping baby.

"What are you naming her?"

"Well..." She glanced around the room and gestured with her head for Cyrus to lean in closer. Lowering her voice, she said, "Giovanni said it was up to me -"

"Typical," Cyrus interrupted, rolling his eyes.

"No, for once he was trying to be..._nice_. He said that he didn't feel right being involved in that kind of decision when he hadn't been around at all. Besides," she said, looking down once again at the baby with a smile, "mothers know best."

"So? What's her name, then?"

"Jessica."

"Jessica...where'd you get that from?"

Miyamoto shrugged. "She just looks like one. You could call her Jessica and she could grow up to be a princess. You could call her Jessie and she could be tough. She could be both!"

"I think she'll end up just like you," Cyrus said with a smile.

"I don't know." She tilted her head a bit. "Having some of Giovanni's qualities wouldn't be so bad."

"So, what kind of bad-mouthing are we doing today?"

Miyamoto and Cyrus looked up to see Giovanni in the doorway, balloons in hand, trying not to make a big deal of it as he placed them next to Cyrus's gigantic flower arrangement. "Oh my god, he got me balloons."

Giovanni's face turned red and he began to act sheepish, something that Miyamoto couldn't help but revel in a little. "If I didn't get you anything after you gave birth in my bed, it would look suspicious."

Smirking, Miyamoto nodded along with his story. "Oh, of course. It's all about the rouse."

"Right now, it is." Giovanni sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. "Mother's going to be here in a minute."

Cyrus and Miyamoto went pale. "She's _what_?"

"She wanted to see you, I couldn't say no."

"I don't see why not!" Cyrus said, standing.

"Please, it's not good for Jessie to be exposed to all this testosterone."

Giovanni looked down at her and the baby and smiled a little. "Jessie?"

Miyamoto nodded, smiling back at him slightly. "Good, right?"

"I like it. She looks like a Jessie. Like a Jessica. A princess."

Looking over to Cyrus, she gestured over to Giovanni with her head. "See?"

He made a face, looking between the two of them. "You guys are...you're pretty close now, aren't you?"

Miyamoto and Giovanni both flushed, looking between each other, unsure of what to say in response. Luckily, they didn't have to say anything as Madame Boss waltzed into the room, followed by Miyamoto's doctor. "Miyamoto, you're looking well. I see my son took very good care of you and your daughter."

Forcing a smile, she nodded. "Oh, yeah. He was just...in the right place at the right time, I guess!"

Madame Boss forced a smile back at her, only colder. "Boys, would you please excuse Miyamoto and myself? I'd like to have a little chat with her." The smile twisting into a smirk, she continued, "Mother-to-mother."

The doctor left quickly but Giovanni and Cyrus both exchanged uneasy looks between each other. "I'm sure Miyamoto can handle herself, mother," Giovanni said, walking around to stand next to Madame Boss. "And I'm sure you've taken up enough -"

"If I have to ask again, you'll be leaving in wheelchairs. Is that understood?" she said, calm and cool, not taking her eyes off Miyamoto.

Giovanni swallowed hard and sighed heavily, body deflating. "Yes, mother."

Cyrus opened his mouth to protest but Miyamoto shook her head at him wildly, pointing to the door. "Go. It's fine, really."

The two men slowly made their way out, both taking one final look back at Miyamoto before Madame Boss simply slammed the door in their faces, locking it behind them. "Really, what do men know about child-rearing?"

Miyamoto laughed slightly, nervously, holding Jessie closer to her chest. "Those two? I'm guessing not a whole lot, sir."

Madame Boss sat down where Cyrus had been seated, looking at the newest addition to the team. "She's quite beautiful, Miyamoto."

"Thank you, sir."

"It's interesting..."

She gulped, smile more forced than ever now. "What is, sir?"

"She looks a bit like me when I was a baby."

Miyamoto could feel the heat creeping up her neck and into her cheeks, laughing nervously once again. "That _is_ interesting. Odd, mostly."

Madame Boss leaned in, eyes locking with Miyamoto's as she stroked baby Jessie's tiny hand. "Stay away from my son."

Her eyes widened, mouth dropped, words trying to form but unable to get anything out.

"I know that being there for the birth of a child together is quite the bonding experience; however, Giovanni doesn't have the time to worry about how you and your bastard child are doing." A wave of relief washed over Miyamoto with the realization that Madame Boss had no idea that Giovanni was the father but she tried to hide it, keeping her demeanor the same. "If I find out that you're in contact with him in any way, you will most certainly pay dearly for it." Madame Boss stood. "He's finally come around and realized what this company means to him. He's working hard and will make a wonderful successor when the time comes." She walked over to the door, unlocking it and placing her hand on the knob. "Don't get in our way, Miyamoto. You know better than anyone that I am not a person who makes empty threats." With that, she opened the door and left, Miyamoto sinking back into her pillows and closing her eyes, letting out a heavy breath she didn't know she'd been keeping in.

Jessie began to cry.


	4. Black

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>For anyone else it would have been considered late; but for Giovanni, this was the time when his night was just beginning. Earning his mother's trust again had been no easy task and now that he knew the ins and outs of Team Rocket like the back of his hand, he had taken to sneaking out at night and hitting up the various bars and restaurants in Viridian City, a different one every night. He felt silly, sneaking around behind his mother's back like a teenager when he was a twenty-five-year-old man but if he didn't let loose in <em>some<em> way, he thought he would surely lose his mind - and his temper.

Cloaked in the cover of darkness, wearing all black and a trench coat, the collar flipped up to conceal more of his face, he went out almost nightly. Two things had changed from the Giovanni of old, however; he didn't have drunken one night stands anymore and when he could, he stopped by Miyamoto's to see Jessie. Miyamoto, too though he would never admit to it.

His mother remained in her own cover of darkness, still unaware that she had a grand-daughter growing up right under her nose. This was why he could only go see her at night, hours after the light in his mother's bedroom had gone out. If she was suspicious, she showed no signs of it. He hoped that maybe, as she got older, she would become more accepting of the idea of leaving behind a legacy in the form of Jessie. She would be perfect to take over one day. Team Rocket was all she'd ever known, after all.

Another thing she knew was that Giovanni would show up around the same time when he would come to visit and put her to bed. They never spoke about her paternity in front of her and with Cyrus still hanging around, he thought it would all be too confusing for a little girl. That, and the fact little Princess Jessie had already developed quite the mouth on her. She took after her mother in most ways but her temper was where Giovanni's genes truly came through. Anything they had to talk about that would be considered "top secret" had to be done when Jessie wasn't there or when they were positive she was asleep. Already at five she was a gossipy little thing; a firecracker whose smile would make the day just as bright as her tears would make it dark.

Something else Giovanni would never admit to - he was wrapped around that little girl's finger. When he saw those big blue eyes and long magenta hair running at him, nothing else mattered. Never, _ever_, did he think he would long a little for a normal, domestic life - and definitely never, _ever_, with Miyamoto, who was the most shocked out of everyone at his behavior.

She had kept both what Madame Boss had said to her and Jessie away from him for most of the first two years of her life, afraid that she wouldn't get her revenge on _her_ but rather on Jessie in some way. Miyamoto couldn't let that happen. Giovanni had only managed to wrangle the truth out of her by threatening to tell everyone everything and while she was in jail for conspiracy, he would be the one raising Jessie - along with his mother. Miyamoto wanted that to happen even less.

Upon hearing what his mother had done, he quietly seethed to himself and began to see the girls simply just to spite her. He never expected that he would end up growing attached to them, continuing to visit even long after a plan to get back at Madame Boss had formulated in his head. It occurred to him that it was possible his mother knew better than he did and, even without knowing Jessie's true paternity, made Miyamoto cut him off right away to avoid this very thing happening.

Tonight was cold - a light snow beginning to fall and gather on the tree limbs. Standing outside Miyamoto's door, Giovanni rubbed his gloved hands together to try and keep warm. It was a long walk from the building to the little shanty town where the girls lived and it only felt longer on bitterly cold and flamethrower-hot days. As soon as the door opened, a mini-Miyamoto standing there in her pajamas with a wide grin on her face, the lengths gone to in order to see her suddenly became more than worth it.

Jessie grabbed him by the hand and tugged him inside, slamming the door shut behind her. Miyamoto yelled not to slam the thing and Jessie made a face at her for a brief moment before returning to the world where everything was all about _Jessie_. "Guess what!"

As he took off his coat and gloves, tossing them onto the couch, he smiled down at her. "What?"

"I know what I'm going to be when I grow up!" she declared proudly, putting her hands on her hips and nodding firmly.

Giovanni raised an eyebrow and looked to Miyamoto in the kitchen, brewing them some coffee. "Yeah? Does your mom know about this?"

She nodded again, her hand taking hold of his and pulling him into the kitchen - she was disturbingly strong for a five-year-old. "I'm going to win every Pokemon contest that ever happens!"

Miyamoto nodded, joining the two at the table with coffee for Giovanni and hot chocolate for Jessie. "It's true. She'll be top coordinator, no doubt."

"And I'll have the prettiest outfits and the strongest, cutest Pokemon and then I'll become famous and get my own TV show and win all the awards for it!" she said, talking fast as she often did. Understanding Jessie was a language all its own.

"I think that all sounds like a great bunch of ideas," Giovanni said, exchanging a smile with Miyamoto before quickly looking away and into his cup of coffee - black like everything else.

"I have a question, though," Jessie said after eating the tiny marshmallows from her hot chocolate. "Do you think when I'm old enough that I could go on a Pokemon journey, too? If I'm going to be the best at Pokemon contests, I'll have to learn a whole lot about a whole lot of Pokemon. I'll be a Pokemon master, too!" She laughed, mostly to herself, squirming in her seat and ready to run out the door and start her grand plan right now.

"You know, Giovanni could teach you about Pokemon," Miyamoto said, sitting down with her own cup of coffee.

Giovanni looked at her, surprised. "What?"

Jessie's eyes widened and she hopped out of the chair and ran over to his, clasping her hands together. "Oh, _please_ would you? Pretty, pretty please!"

He laughed softly, running a hand back through his hair. "I...don't see why not."

"_Yes_!" Jessie turned to go back to her seat but caught sight of the snow falling outside. "Mama! Mama, it's _snowing_!" Before anyone could stop her, she was out the door, standing in front of the house, catching snowflakes on her tongue.

"Oh, for the love of..." Miyamoto got up after her, Giovanni following. "You'll freeze to death out here in those pajamas!"

Spinning around in the snow, Jessie shook her head. "No I won't! That's silly."

"_You're_ silly," she replied, picking her up and bringing her back inside as they both laughed, Giovanni continuing to follow like a loyal Pokemon, watching the way the two interacted and equating the warm feeling he felt in his chest to the coffee, nothing more. He was caught off-guard, however when Miyamoto offered Jessie to him. "Bed."

"Oh, right. It's pretty late," he said, taking his daughter from her and heading toward the small bedroom that both Miyamoto and Jessie shared.

"I'm not sleepy, though!" Jessie protested, only to yawn a few seconds later.

"Not even a little bit. Right." He set her down on the floor and watched as she climbed into her "bed" - nothing more than a small, quickly deflating air mattress with a comforter two sizes too big for it. He waited for her to get settled in and then asked, "Good?"

Jessie nodded, yawning again while replying, "Good!"

Giovanni closed the bedroom door behind him, joining Miyamoto back in the kitchen. "Why did you tell her I could teach her about Pokemon?"

Miyamoto shrugged, taking the used mugs and rinsing them in the sink. "Because you know a lot. You've only been studying them and - what? Their DNA and eggs or something? - since before Jessie was born. I thought it might be a good way for you two to bond."

"Oh, sure. I'll just make her a Noctowl and teach her at night, the only time I can get away."

"Which is stupid in and of itself."

"It's _not_," Giovanni said sharply. "Do you think I want anything to happen to that girl? Someone - anyone, just one idiot - sees me here and -"

Miyamoto spun around, pointing at him with a shaky, soapy finger. "Don't. Don't you dare even finish that thought. I've finished it more times than I can count."

Letting out a heavy sigh, he nodded, leaning against the table. "I'm sorry."

"At least you think about it, too. I feel a little less paranoid and a lot more scared."

"Don't be. Do you have any idea what my mother will have to do to get past me and to her? Nothing short of killing me would make me abandon her."

Miyamoto looked down slightly as she dried her hands, smiling. "I know. If you would've said that to me a few years ago, I would absolutely have called bullshit. You've changed, though." She looked up at him, nodding to him. "And it's for the better."

Giovanni pulled his black turtleneck up further on his neck, trying to hide the tint of pink that was now running up it to his cheeks. He rubbed them and reached for his things, putting his gloves on as he spoke, "I should get going. Before the snow gets too bad."

She tried not to let the disappointment show in her face - or even acknowledge that there was disappointment in the first place. "Be careful, yeah? Like I said..." Miyamoto draped the dish towel over her shoulder, starting for the bedroom. "You'll freeze to death out there."

* * *

><p>Giovanni stood in his mother's office, adjusting his tie in the reflection of the windows. He didn't like the thought of being called in there without knowing why. It was like being called into the principal's office - if your principal was an aging sociopath. There were murmurs around headquarters that the more successful agents who had been with Team Rocket for a long time thought that she was starting to slip. This was news to Giovanni, who thought she had lost touch with reality and sanity long before this. He wondered if she'd heard the rumors and was about to officially hand the company over to him. He smirked to himself in the window. Once she was out of the way, he could get Miyamoto and Jessie out of that pit and bring them to live with him in his penthouse. Everything his mother had done had been in the name of family, so she said; Giovanni thought that maybe he could do it better - do it right - as long as he had them at his side. Jessie would have everything she could ever want or need. Any Pokemon she wanted, he would make sure to get it. Any toys she wanted, he would get. She would be enrolled in the best schools so that she could achieve her dream of becoming a coordinator and Pokemon master. He and Miyamoto...well, he wasn't quite as ready to think about that yet.<p>

The door opened with a loud, long creak and he turned, mouth open to start asking his mother what he was doing there but finding that she wasn't the one that had entered - it was Cyrus. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked in an accusing tone, as though Cyrus was being ballsy enough to intrude on a space that he could only ever _dream_ of occupying.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he replied. "Madame Boss called me up here to talk with me about a new undertaking." He turned up his nose slightly, a sly smile spreading across his face. "I assume you're here because you need your diaper changed."

"Oh, grow up already," Giovanni spat back. "You can't use me as an excuse for why you aren't with Miyamoto. You had two years to stop being such a Persian and you're no closer to her than you were the night I knocked her up."

"I can't _believe_ you! You talk about it like it was just another one of your disgusting rolls in the hay."

Laughing coldly, Giovanni walked over to Cyrus, looking him in the eye. "Don't you _ever_ tell me what I'm talking about when it comes to Miyamoto and Jessie." He flicked a piece of Cyrus's blue hair. "You're lucky I haven't beaten the shit out of you simply for existing and _particularly_ for trying to weasel your way into my daughter's life as her father figure. You," he said, poking him hard in the nose, "will never be to them what I am. Not on your best day."

Cyrus growled, shoving Giovanni and causing him to stumble back a couple of steps. "She needs _some_ kind of positive role model, doesn't she?! Do you want her to end up like you? Moving from hook-up to hook-up in some insane attempt to get the affection that you never got from your own mother!"

"Oh, you are so fucking -" Giovanni began, clenching his fist.

"Ah, good. You're both here." Madame Boss walked in from a hidden panel in the woodwork on the wall behind her desk. She sat down and folded her hands, looking up at them expectantly. "Please, if you'd rather act like children I'll be more than happy to give this assignment to two other agents who are a bit more mature."

"What assignment?" Giovanni asked, annoyed. "I'm not an agent, _mother_."

"Oh, I know, darling," she said in a tone so sugary sweet Giovanni was sure a cavity had just formed on his back tooth. "You'll be overseeing it. I want to put you in a proper leadership situation and see how you handle yourself." She sat back in the chair, her smile as sweet as her voice had been. "I'm getting on in age, you know. If you aren't up to the task of running Team Rocket, I'll have to make other arrangements."

"Fine. Can I leave now?"

"Well, don't you want to hear what it is you'll be overseeing?"

"Honestly, mother..." He let out an exasperated sigh. "I really don't give a shit right now."

Madame Boss's façade quickly came to an end as her expression became sour and she leaned forward on her desk menacingly. "And _I _don't give a shit about _that_. Now _sit down_ and stop acting like a spoiled _brat_!"

It took all of Cyrus's willpower not to laugh at Giovanni being reprimanded, watching him slink down into a chair like a Growlithe that had just been scolded. He could have sworn he even heard him whimper a little.

Madame Boss extended her hand, gesturing to the seat next to Giovanni. "And Cyrus?"

He sat, unable to keep at least the hint of a smirk at bay. "Yes? I'd like to know what you have in mind, ma'am. I think being hand-picked by you to take on an assignment is the highest form of flattery."

"How do you breathe when your lips are so firmly planted on mother's ass?" Giovanni retorted, crossing his arms.

She glared at him for just a few seconds longer than what would be considered comfortable before turning her attention back to Cyrus. "Thank you, Cyrus. I had a feeling you were the right man for the job." Madame Boss stood, talking as she made her way to a file cabinet, "Professor Samuel Oak. He's the Kanto region's expert on Pokemon. He's the one that children go to when they start on their journey to receive their first Pokemon." She opened the cabinet and began to look through the files, continuing, "He's just moved his lab to a town called Pallet, not far from Viridian City. It's the most technologically advanced laboratory known to the Pokemon world, built solely for the purpose of studying them in an attempt to understand them all the better. Ah." She pulled out a file and pushed the drawer shut, heading back to her desk. "After all, Pokemon are our _friends_." She sat down, rolling her eyes at the notion. "This file contains everything you will need to know in order to infiltrate that lab. It includes fake identities for you both, a complete background and persona to help you gain the trust of the town and Professor himself." She tossed the file to the edge of her desk where Cyrus picked it up. "The more _we_ understand about Pokemon, the better we can accomplish our goals by using them. I'm placing _you_ in charge of this mission, Giovanni..." Madame Boss narrowed her eyes, pointing a finger at him. "But if you dare to compromise it, I _will_ make Cyrus your superior. Don't think for a moment that I won't."

Giovanni gripped at the arms of the chair, clenching his teeth. "_Yes, mother_."

"There's my sweet boy. Everything you need is already packed. You can find your belongings in your rooms." She stood and with her, the boys did as well. "I want you to leave immediately. This is a very delicate operation and I don't want to risk one of you talking to another agent about it. No one is to know about this except for the three of us. Is that understood?"

Cyrus nodded, tucking the file folder under his arm. "Yes, ma'am."

"I can't leave right away. I have something to do first," Giovanni said flatly. He exchanged a look with Cyrus and despite his now-foul mood, still managed to get the point across that he was referring to saying goodbye to Miyamoto and Jessie.

"Sometimes leaders have to sacrifice for the sake of the greater good of those they're leading," Madame Boss replied in a cool tone. "You will meet your subordinates at the edge of town, near the Pokemon Center, in _five minutes_. If you aren't there, you'll be left behind. And I can assure you, boys..." She turned, hitting the spot on the wall where the secret door was, making the panel slide away. "You _won't_ want to be left behind." She stepped inside the doorway and looked at them, smiling. "Good luck." And with that, she disappeared behind the wall.


	5. White

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>It was beyond Miyamoto where not only Giovanni had gotten off to, but Cyrus as well. Giovanni doing a disappearing act was something that she had been expecting for a long time. Cyrus, though?<p>

It occurred to her that maybe one had finally had it with the other and gotten rid of him. This was a thought more for Giovanni than Cyrus but she knew better than anyone just how deep under Cyrus's skin Giovanni could get. Still, she couldn't picture him doing Giovanni in - no matter how many times she was sure he had pictured it himself.

If they wanted to go off and let loose their testosterone, she wasn't going to worry about it too much. Maybe it would be good for them. It wasn't as though she didn't have things to keep herself busy. Jessie was in school now and, much to Miyamoto's dismay, went to whatever Team Rocket considered passing for one on the grounds. A lot of her time was spent dragging out of Jessie what she'd learned that day and then promptly telling her the exact opposite. The odds weren't exactly in Jessie's favor as it was - the last thing she needed was to be groomed for a future life of crime.

Miyamoto wanted something better for her. It was one of the few times that she was actually a little glad that Giovanni was her father. He could give her so much more than she ever could by herself. She knew Jessie didn't care and didn't even realize what their life was like compared to people outside what she had "lovingly" started to refer to as "the compound"; but _she_ _did_ know and didn't want her daughter stuck in a rut, only reaching for the closest star and not the biggest, brightest one in the sky.

It had been a few good years since she had last gotten a real assignment from the boss. Before Jessie, this would have made her start climbing the walls, worrying non-stop about what she could have possibly done to upset Madame Boss and how she could make it better. Now, the break was actually nice. She had worked so hard for so long to get where she was before the night she spent with Giovanni - wasn't it fair enough that she reap the rewards a little bit? Even if it _did_ mean having to scrub every bathroom in the dorms. She was always very thankful to have her own plumbing after that job, tiny little shack or not.

That's why there was no relief when she was suddenly called into the boss's office one day while Jessie was at school. What she would have been thankful for a few years ago was now something that filled her with dread and shock.

Miyamoto tugged the skirt of her uniform down, deciding that it must have shrunk in all the years that it hung in her closet. She sighed, blowing a piece of purple hair from her face and looked around. The place hadn't changed much and it brought her back to that fateful day when she was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. She wondered for the first time in a long time what her life would have been like had she accepted Madame Boss's offer. What if she still had Jessie but chose money and power over wanting her daughter to know her father? That answer was simple enough: instead of worrying about Madame Boss coming after her and Jessie, she would be worrying about Giovanni. It was a no-win situation but, at the end of the day, she was confident that her choice was the lesser of two evils.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening and closing behind her, Madame Boss entering. As she made her way to her desk, Miyamoto couldn't help but notice how frail she looked. To anyone else, she would have looked fine - Miyamoto knew better. She seemed tired and shaky, her age actually showing in her face and on her hands though she tried to hide it through makeup. No one actually knew Madame Boss's real age (though it was safe to say that she could no longer pretend it was her 38th birthday) but it seemed obvious that she wasn't nearly as old as her appearance made her look.

"I have a mission for you," she said after getting comfortable in her desk chair.

Miyamoto blinked, a bit taken aback by what she'd just heard. "...What?"

"A mission. I've given you more than enough time to recover from your..." She gestured up and down her body, a sour look on her face. "_Situation_."

She clenched her fists, narrowing her eyes at the woman that she formerly idolized. "My daughter is not a _situation_, sir."

Madame Boss waved her hand in dismissal, continuing on, "I simply don't trust that anyone else can accomplish this mission besides you. Despite everything, you were a hell of an agent. I need that for this mission." She folded her hands and rested them on the desk. "Do you think you still have what it takes?"

Miyamoto nodded, her fists still clenched tightly. "I do, sir."

She smiled and leaned back in the chair, resting her hands in her lap now. "That's what I like to hear. Now, you'll have to leave today and you may be gone for a while."

"Oh," she said, frowning. "I don't know if I can leave Jessie -"

"I'll make sure one of your trusted friends cares for her in your absence."

"Cyrus is gone -"

"Also on a mission."

Confused, Miyamoto argued, "It's been weeks. He would have called -"

"Explicit instructions, Miyamoto. You of all people should understand."

Still not completely satisfied with the explanation, she nodded slightly. "Yes, sir."

"Your mission is as follows." Madame Boss opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out a manilla folder, handing it to Miyamoto. "I need you to go to the mountains. There have been sightings of Mew there and I would like you to attempt to get some of its DNA - saliva, hair, droppings - whatever you happen upon and know for a fact that it's Mew's."

Flipping through the folder as she listened to her boss, she scanned the paperwork and looked up. "'Scientific purposes'?" she inquired. "And why only the DNA? Why not Mew itself?"

Madame Boss laughed. "If you can catch the damn thing, be my guest. It's notoriously elusive, able to teleport at the drop of a hat."

"And the scientific stuff?"

"We have exciting things in the works, Miyamoto," she replied with a smirk. "I can promise you that when you return, you'll be handsomely rewarded...you _and_ your daughter."

As wary as she was about the whole situation - the timing of Cyrus's "mission" and Giovanni disappearing seeming a little _too_ coincidental for her liking - how could she turn down _another_ opportunity to better not only her life, but Jessie's as well? She had no real reason not to trust Madame Boss at this point. She hadn't done anything to her or Jessie and it seemed obvious she was unaware about her connection to Giovanni. Maybe she was truly trying to make amends. Maybe she was dying and didn't want to leave things the way they were between them.

Miyamoto could only hope.

* * *

><p>"I don't want you to go!" Jessie protested, her big, blue eyes filling with tears.<p>

"It won't be for long, I promise," Miyamoto said, pulling her in for a hug and squeezing her gently.

"Everyone leaves me," she little girl sniffled, rubbing her eyes against her mother's shoulder. "My two uncles are gone and now my mama is leaving, too."

She pulled back, putting her hands on Jessie's shoulders and looking her in the eye. "Jessie, that's not true. Your Uncle Cyrus is on a mission, just like mama's going to be. You know about missions, right?" Jessie nodded, sniffling again. "They're only temporary. Everyone comes back."

"What if you don't?" she asked quietly, wiping her eyes again with the back of her hand. "Who will take care of me?"

Miyamoto couldn't help but smile, brushing stray strands of Jessie's long magenta hair from sticking to her tear-stained cheeks. "I'm coming back and _I'll_ take care of you. I'll always take care of you, Jessie."

Her lower lip began to tremble and she wrapped her arms around her mother again, holding on for dear life. "Why can't I go, too?"

Stroking her hair, she kissed the side of her head. "Because even Team Rocket doesn't allow child labor."

Jessie looked up uneasily from behind Miyamoto's hair to the woman chosen to take care of her while her mother was away. She was nice enough - the wife and mother of one of the other families stuck in another shack across from them. Her husband was the agent in the family, making Miyamoto a little more secure with leaving Jessie. At least _one_ well-adjusted person lived in that house. "I'm scared," Jessie whispered into her ear.

"It's okay to be scared. Everyone gets scared."

"Do you get scared, mama?"

She pulled away, wiping the tears away from Jessie's face. "_Everyone_ gets scared. You can't let it rule your life, though. You have to accept the way you're feeling and move on, move past it. Do you think you can do that for me? Do you think you can be a strong girl?"

Jessie nodded, sniffling once more. "Yes, mama."

Miyamoto smiled, standing from her crouched position on the floor. A grunt stood waiting at the door with a huge knapsack packed to the brim with everything she would need for her trip. "I love you."

She forced a small smile back. "I love you, mama. I'll be waiting for you!"

* * *

><p>It wasn't until she began scaling the mountain that one of the Rocket helicopters had dropped her off on that Miyamoto realized how severely out of shape she was. She made "snow food", for crying out loud - who the hell gained weight from drinking water?<p>

She sat down on a large rock outside a cave, catching her breath that floated into the air in wispy white waves. The whole mountain seemed utterly deserted as far as she'd seen. Not even ice-types were around. Then again, maybe that was why Mew chose this place.

The wind began to whip up suddenly causing her hair to smack her in the face. She spat it out of her mouth, pushing it back and tucking it up into her hat. There was nothing to think of the wind - it happened every now and then, a little more and a little more harshly as she climbed. It wasn't until the sound penetrated her hat and earmuffs that the thought of something being very wrong came to mind.

Miyamoto stood up, looking around at the sky. It was a helicopter, she was sure of it. Where was it, though? And whose was it?

Suddenly there was a loud explosion up further up on the mountain, making her duck and cover her head with her hands. When nothing seemed to come of it, she studied the sky once again. The helicopter was coming closer, the bright red R on the side clearly visible. She frowned, wondering what they were doing back already. Was there some kind of time frame Madame Boss had forgotten to tell her about?

An orange-red light began to glow from the bottom of the helicopter and soon was shooting across the sky. Seconds later another explosion shook through the mountain. Thinking perhaps they didn't know she was there, she tried jumping up and down, waving her hands to get their attention - nothing.

Thoroughly confused and a little annoyed, she went back to the rock to grab her knapsack and start on her way again. Just as she was slipping it on, a loud rumble came from above her head. It came like thunder with a storm - becoming louder and more intense every second it got closer. As she looked up to see what was going on, a rush of cold ran through her body as it was knocked back into the cave by a tidal wave of snow. The mountain shook violently as the rumbling continued, Miyamoto cowering inside the cave, her eyes squeezed shut.

It felt like hours had gone by when in fact, it had only been seconds. The rumbling stopped and the mountain became the quiet, snowy wasteland it had been before. She waited a little bit before daring to move and assess her situation. When she finally did, she wished she hadn't.

Snow completely blocked the entrance to the icy cave, some spilling inside, unable to contain itself. Miyamoto huffed, taking the knapsack off and putting her hands on her hips, looking around the cave for any other possible exits. It didn't come back to her until she found herself completely trapped that the cause of what had to have been an avalanche were the missiles the helicopter was shooting off. That made no sense, though. It was a Team Rocket helicopter, she was sure of it - the R still burned brightly in her mind.

She sat down on her knapsack, biting her lip. Maybe that was the point. Maybe it was supposed to be etched into her brain as the last thing she would ever see again. Maybe she had been totally played. Maybe Giovanni and his mother were laughing together right now, clinking glasses of champagne at their victory.

Miyamoto narrowed her eyes and stood, digging around in the knapsack. She found what she was looking for - a bowl - and headed for the entrance of the cave. Getting down on her knees, she began digging using the bowl, tossing the snow aside and making a rather large pile rather quickly but seeming to make no real dent in the snow that held her captive.

Determined, she clenched her teeth, using her free gloved hand as well to try and make it go faster. She couldn't possibly be that deep, could she? Her thoughts once again went to Giovanni and Madame Boss, the rage she felt coming out physically as she feverishly tried to dig her way out.

"Try to kill me, will you?" she said to herself. "Good luck with that!"


	6. Picket Fences

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Giovanni and Cyrus's alter-egos were supposed to be roommates - workers-for-hire to take care of small things around the homes in Pallet Town in order to save up enough money to continue on their journey. Neither one was particularly thrilled at the thought of having to share quarters with the other.<p>

Having been put in charge of the mission, Giovanni took it upon himself to claim a bed, an easy chair in the living room, _and_ first dibs on the bathroom. He _was_ the boss, after all. Cyrus mumbled something to himself but kept his homicidal thoughts inside his head. Whether he liked the guy or not, Giovanni had been put in charge by Madame Boss and he had to listen to him - something that he knew Giovanni had to be reveling in.

Various other grunts were scattered around the small town with their own stories to tell if they were asked. The whole place seemed too trusting and ready to embrace strangers before they could even take their backpacks off. It happened to be divine intervention - or simply just amazing luck - that the group of criminals came when they did. The town was getting ready for some kind of party that they had held every year since even the eldest citizen could remember. This year, with the addition of Professor Oak and his laboratory, it doubled as a chance for young trainers to pick their first Pokemon and have one more night at home before starting on their journey the next day.

It couldn't have worked out better if Giovanni had planned it himself. Innocent little townies too wrapped up in their party and the need to make everyone feel welcome to look twice at the horde of newcomers. How in the world had these people not been viciously attacked and robbed before now? The way his mind worked, it was nothing short of lunacy to have an opportunity like this and not use their habit of leaving their doors and windows unlocked to your advantage. One of the things about him that hadn't changed was that he only saw things in terms of what he could get from them and not necessarily what was wrong or right. After all the years of learning from his mother, he wasn't sure he would be able to tell what right or wrong was, anyway.

From his mother he got...just about everything: life, a nice place to live, money, respect, a successful organization to pass down through the family as he saw fit once she was gone; from Miyamoto, he told himself that all she was to him was an incubator that resulted in the best thing that had ever happened to him - he would never admit to anyone, least of all himself, that he got so much more from her and wanted more still; from Jessie he got the unconditional love of a little girl that believed in fairy tales and happily ever after. Her heart would break the second she got out into the real world and realized that the stories she loved so much were just that - silly stories that could never happen.

Princes weren't real. If princesses had been, Jessie would be the closest thing he could think of to being one. Love wasn't as easy as finding a shoe or awakening with a kiss. It was cruel and calculated most of the time, each person sucking whatever they wanted or needed from the other until they were done, tossing them aside like a used rag. Happy endings weren't real - at least not from his experience - and the idea that she would grow up hoping for something that she would never find made him furious; furious with Miyamoto for promoting that kind of garbage; furious with Jessie that she would even fall for any of it, child or not; furious with the world itself for being so cold and cruel.

Giovanni often caught himself glaring at Cyrus. He had a million and a half reasons to want the guy out of his life but the one that bothered him the most was how the blue-haired moron thought he knew everything. He thought he had Giovanni all figured out. Giovanni left more intellectual things in the toilet every morning. Just because he often put up a tough front to keep others from taking advantage of him (a lot of good that did) didn't mean he was some Machoke, only capable of thinking of satisfaction and how to achieve it - violence, sex, money, drugs. Even in his younger days he would think of the repercussions of his actions and wonder why he was making himself such a train wreck. If it hadn't come from Cyrus, Giovanni might have put some stock in that "motherly affection" thing.

Being the poor sport he usually was, Cyrus asked not to go on their recon mission to the big Pallet Town party. He had been in a perpetual shitty mood ever since they first arrived (Giovanni's behavior in regards to their new home not exactly helping matters any) and didn't think he would be an asset to the mission. Leaving Junior at home was perfectly fine with him - he worked best on his own, anyway and Cyrus had squeezed his way into more than enough of his life already. He assumed that he was staying home to take a bubble bath like the lady he was and cry about Miyamoto like the little bitch he also was. If he _didn't_ get some nights out and away from him, he feared their monthlies would sync up.

It didn't take long for him to begin mingling at the party and it took even less time to get a drink in his hand. The only down side to Cyrus not being there was that he would have to fill him in the next day on any additions he made to their characters and their stories. For all Giovanni knew, these people had the memories of Donphans and would be able to quiz them at the drop of a hat. From what he'd seen, they would use just about any excuse to talk to someone new. The only time he ever did this was when sex was an inevitability. He had to be rewarded somehow for listening to the usual bimbos he picked up tell him their entire life story in one sitting, most of which was useless and spoken about in a tone so high, squeaky, and ditzy he pretty much had to be close to unconscious to keep the sound of their voices out of his head. He would have gone crazy, deaf, or both otherwise.

Leaning against a tree and taking a sip from drink number three, he watched all of the people laugh, talk, dance, and embrace. Who would ever _want_ that? It made them all look ridiculous, gazing into each other's eyes and sneaking kisses, followed by a flurry of giggles. These particular people weren't much younger than he was yet he found them all to be childish fools.

He finished off the rest of his drink and began the mission within a mission to find another. At least _that_ would likely prove fruitful - unlike what this night was shaping up to be. The professor hadn't shown his face at all and the dusty dirt road that led to his lab had been closed off. Normally he would have ignored such things but the two Electabuzz that stood at the ready made him balk. It was bad enough that the party was boring him to death and he had no chance to meet up with the professor - getting electrocuted was not something that would improve his evening.

As he scanned the houses he passed, he did a quick check from the street through windows and doors, looking for anything that might be of value. He was doing just this to a house across the street when he bumped into a young woman - a year or two younger than he was, he guessed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, brushing nothingness off of his shirt and looking him over.

He did the same to her - though for much less innocent reasons. She had brown hair, long and fine, flowing down her back and catching the moonlight in such a way that it looked as if she were wearing a silk cape. His eyes followed her hair down to its end and took a moment to appreciate the butt that it barely reached. Short-shorts truly had to be the greatest invention of all time - beat out only, perhaps, by the bikini. Pure genius. The most important aspect having been inspected, he moved on to the next - her breasts; and once he deemed them okay, the last thing - her face.

Their eyes met for what was only a split-second as she blushed and turned away. Her skin looked like porcelain, her eyes chocolate-brown and even just for the brief moment he'd seen them, he was taken aback by how deep they seemed to go.

Normally the types of girls that were shy and wore their hearts on their sleeves in that way simply weren't his type - possibly because it would take actually giving a shit to get anywhere with them. This girl was now the exception.

Giovanni flashed his best smile and shook his head. "No, I wasn't watching where I was going. Completely my fault." He reached for her hand and lifted it to his lips, looking up at her as he gingerly kissed the top of it. "Giovanni," he said and then almost immediately cursed to himself - so much for those alter-egos.

The girl blushed even more, the pink of her cheeks bright in contrast to her milky skin. It was like looking into the face of a doll. "Delia," she replied.

He nodded to her and let her hand fall, smirking slightly when she touched the spot he had kissed with her other hand. "Well, Delia...it was good to meet you." He paused, quickly replacing the smug smirk with an angelic smile. "_Very_ good."

She nodded as well, some of her hair falling over her shoulder. He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to run his hands through it, grip it in the throes of passion - it really had been too long since he had a sexual partner that wasn't his hand after a particularly harsh run-in with Miyamoto. He truly had a fucked up mind.

Giovanni started past her, going slowly in the hopes that she would do exactly what she did - call him back. He turned and made no real secret of his admiration for her body as she walked toward him.

"Where are you staying in town?" she asked, biting her lip.

He gestured with his head in the direction of the house he suddenly wished he didn't have to share with Cockblock. "Over around that little road. I just moved here with a friend. We were on our journey together and ran out of money." Might as well keep _some_ aspect of his character intact. "Luckily, the owner of the house was kind enough to give it to us as long as we kept it up and gave him half of whatever money we managed to bring in." Or his mother had threatened the man's family and forced him to hand it over. Who could really remember?

"Oh, that's wonderful!" she said, a bright smile on her face. "What are you going to do for money?"

Nonchalantly he shrugged. "Little things here and there. We were thinking about checking to see if anyone in town needed things done - painting, repairs - that kind of thing."

"Well," she began cautiously, "I know my father has been saying he was going to paint our fence out front for _years_ now..."

Giovanni laughed, raising an eyebrow at her. "Years?"

Delia nodded, the blush coming back to her cheeks. "It really has been. Whenever I try to do it myself, he always yells and says again and again, 'I'll do it, Delia!' but it never happens."

He shrugged again, sticking his hands into his front pockets. "Shouldn't be a problem for us. Hell, I could probably do it myself." During his self-inflicted celibacy, he hadn't lost that manipulative magic that made him so popular with the ladies before; at least he could rest on that if nothing else.

"Oh, that would be fine. I could even help, if you like. I wouldn't pay you any less."

"Sounds like a plan." He stuck his hand out for her and she tentatively shook it. "When do you want me?" He purposely left the question at that and threw her his most effective smouldering look.

"Want you?" She swallowed hard and quickly ducked her head, her hair cascading over most of her body and all of her face. "Tomorrow. Tomorrow should be okay. My father will be out most of the day, helping to clean up after the party..." She tucked some of her hair behind her ear, still not looking up to meet his gaze. "Not that he has to be gone or anything, it's just easier than explaining and arguing about it and -"

Giovanni put his hand up, laughing softly. "I understand. It's fine." When she finally lifted her head up and met his eyes, he smiled at her once again. "See you tomorrow, then, Delia." He started off toward home, giving her a slight wave as he went, the smirk returning when she waved back timidly.

One vice had been abruptly replaced with another as thoughts of getting plastered enough to deal with the idiocy around him became a thing of the past. The only thought that floated around his head as he strolled home that night was just how quickly he could get into that girl's shorts.

* * *

><p>He had purposely left Cyrus in the dark about what had transpired the night before just so he didn't have to hear his bitching, scolding, and guilt-trips. He would surely act as if Giovanni were cheating on Miyamoto, whipping it out and sticking it to anyone he could get his hands on as soon as he could get away from her. The fact simply was that he and Miyamoto weren't in that type of relationship. She couldn't get mad at him for hooking up with someone (especially after how well-behaved he'd been as of late) and he couldn't get mad at her for doing the same. He still would, of course, and likely threaten her would-be suitor back into the hole they crawled out of but, technically, he had no <em>real<em> right to feel that way.

When he left for Delia's that morning, he simply explained that he had been offered a job and that the sooner they made themselves fixtures in the community, the better their chances to get a look in that lab. Cyrus seemed to have tuned out fairly early on in his explanation, something that made him annoyed and relieved at once. Were this any other leader, Cyrus's head would be up their ass to his neck; but since it was him, apparently he felt as though he could be a disrespectful little shit and nothing would come of it. Maybe, maybe not. At the moment Giovanni was just glad that he didn't have to torture himself with any kind of extended conversation with him. He would decide later whether to make him pay for his insolence or not.

The day was bright and warm and, though it was still early, people were already out and about, starting their day. The thought that this would be a nice place to have a house with Miyamoto and Jessie was a fleeting one, replaced with one that made him far happier - whether or not the warm weather would result in even less clothing.

Meeting up with Delia where they first met the night before, he was happy to see that the short-shorts were still in play. Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid and she wore an old tank top that he wished had been cut just a little lower. Compared to most of the girls he usually went after, she was a little plain, her face free of makeup, clusters of freckles sweeping across her cheeks. She was quite beautiful, he had decided the more he looked at her. A total and complete opposite of what was waiting for him back at headquarters.

Delia was sweet and quiet while Miyamoto was anything but. That was part of her charm, of course but it became exhausting going back and forth with her almost every time they were in the same room. Sometimes the sexual tension between them was so intense, he had to get himself out of the situation as quickly as possible before he ended up doing something he would regret. It was a constant power-struggle between them over who wore the pants in the relationship and how that would dictate just what the definition of their "relationship" actually was.

He took his sweet time painting the fence until she came to help him, bringing out some lemonade along with her. Smirking to himself as she picked up a paint brush and moved around to the other side of the fence, he took the opportunity to gauge how tall a mountain he would have to climb before getting her in bed. He slipped off his shirt and tossed it aside before grabbing a glass of lemonade and taking a long sip. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw her peering through the fence at him. It was hard to tell from his viewpoint but he was fairly confident that she was blushing just as she had the night before. It was endearing - something he never cared much about before.

Taking the other glass over to her, he knelt down and handed it to her, smiling as she quickly grabbed it and avoided looking at him at all costs. She was cute - again, something he never found very appealing before, opting for the more voluptuous types; but there was something about her that broke the mold.

They continued to paint and finish up the fence, Delia playfully smearing his chest with her brush and laughing and then shrieking when he tried to return the favor. When all was said and done, they ended up in her bathroom, trying to scrub off the mess they'd made of each other.

"I really didn't think we managed to get _this much_ paint on ourselves," she said, scrubbing at one of her cheeks with a washcloth and not seeing much success.

Giovanni glanced over at her and smiled slightly, turning to face her and gently taking the washcloth from her. "Here, let me try." He lifted his hand to her face, the wet cloth brushing against those freckles that he found himself a little more fond of.

She stared at him, mouth partly open as if trying to say something - _anything_ at this point. Ducking her gaze from his penetrating one, she took his washcloth from him as well, pausing for a moment before sharply inhaling a deep breath and pressing it to his chest, trying to get the original smudge of white paint off his skin.

He was surprised by her actions, not pegging her for one that jumped into things head first without taking the time to find out just what she was going to land in. It only made him more intrigued, especially when she began to blush again and, at the same time, her rubbing on his chest slowed as if she were actually enjoying touching him in that way. It made him feel confident in his plan to bed her, even more so than before. It seemed a bit more obvious now that maybe she was longing just as desperately as he was for some kind of pleasurable human interaction.

Abruptly she dropped her hand and turned back to the sink, rinsing out the cloth. "I did the best I could."

Giovanni nodded as she took his washcloth and began to do the same thing to it. Either she was _very_ into cleanliness or the washcloths were getting the brunt of her frustration, being squeezed and scrubbed so roughly that he was waiting for them to disintegrate. He took the moment to slip back into his shirt and then lean against the sink. "I hope every job is this fun."

Delia nodded now as well, focused on her work. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Well, just as long as work and play don't mix together too much." He smiled at her playfully. "I hear that kind of thing is frowned upon most places."

She bit her lip and stayed quiet as she moved about the bathroom, hanging the used rags up to dry, no doubt trying to make the place look perfectly normal again for her father's return. If anything was going to keep him from landing this girl, it would likely be her father. Giovanni didn't have much experience with fathers, never knowing his own and _certainly_ never sticking around long enough to meet any other girls' parents. They were lucky if they woke up in the morning and he was either still there or hadn't put them out on their ass already.

As difficult as it was to do, he knew that he may actually have to be a gentleman in this case. He decided for the moment not to think too hard about how one day, he would be the disapproving and over-protective father. He hoped that the fact that he was the dictionary definition of what most young men were after in their twenties would make him wiser than other fathers, easily duped by nice clothes and a winning smile. He could only hope Delia's father fell into that category.

"Would you like to go out to dinner some time?" he asked, feigning embarrassment. He couldn't remember the last time he actually _asked_ a girl if she wanted to do something and didn't simply just use his money, good looks, and power to woo them into his bed, no questions asked.

"I would love to," she replied a little too quickly, blushing as she realized how it sounded.

He thought nothing of it - well, maybe he was _a little_ pleased with himself - going back for just a second to his old ways, where he felt most comfortable, and telling her what was going to happen. "I'll pick you up tonight. Six?"

She nodded in agreement, a shy smile coming across her lips.

A strange feeling came over him on the way back home. It was a feeling that he knew he'd had before but couldn't pinpoint when or why. It was the feeling that maybe all the grunt work would end up being worth it, beyond simply getting her in bed. Maybe he would end up enjoying himself with her in other ways and actually start to really care about her.

Making his way up the walk to the front door, he put his hand on the knob and stopped, staring blankly at the wooden door in front of him. He knew when he'd had this feeling before and he knew why.

Giovanni rested his head against the door and shut his eyes, heaving a sigh of aggravation and annoyance. "Fucking Miyamoto."

* * *

><p>"You are <em>such<em> a little _shit_! I should have beaten you into a coma years ago!"

"It's your own fault!" Cyrus spat back, phone in hand and fingers at the ready. "You've been so preoccupied with Delia that you've completely forgotten about our mission! And you know what your mother said I should do if you messed up."

Giovanni took a deep breath and shut his eyes, trying hard to picture anything remotely calming or happy. All that came to him was a fantasy about punching Cyrus in the face. "I told you when we first got here - the sooner we get in good with the community -"

"Oh, shut up! It's been _weeks_! Have you even _met_ the professor?"

He shrugged, crossing his arms. "Delia's father happens to be good friends with the professor."

Cyrus stared at him, waiting for the rest. When Giovanni turned and went to sit in his lounge chair, he slammed the phone down. "And _what_?!"

Stretching out in the chair, he put his hands behind his head, making himself comfortable. The thought of moving now, even to murder Cyrus, was out of the question. That idiot was extremely lucky that Miyamoto had his back. If that hadn't been the case, he would be six feet under, no questions asked. "And, we were invited to the lab for dinner one night. A couple of days ago."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to stomp over and wring Giovanni's neck; instead he found that he was too livid to move. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Because Delia and I didn't go," he responded calmly, opening one eye and smirking at the fuming man across the room. "We had another kind of hunger to satisfy."

Cyrus growled, clenching his fists. "Have you completely forgotten -"

"Miyamoto." He rolled his eyes. What a waste of perfectly good oxygen this guy was. "No, I haven't. More to the point, I haven't forgotten about Jessie."

"Then why are you screwing around with this new girl?"

He sat up in the chair, rubbing his eyes and then looking at his subordinate. "This may shock you, Cyrus, but Miyamoto was never my _old_ girl. We tolerate each other for Jessie's sake. Much like how I tolerate you for Miyamoto's."

"You might be able to fool Miyamoto - and maybe even Delia - but not me." Cyrus walked toward him and stopped in front of the chair, glaring down at him. "I know how you feel about her. I also know that you'd rather be hit by a bus than admit it to her. You're only with Delia because she's _here_ and because, for whatever reason, she thinks you're something resembling a human being."

Giovanni looked up at him through hooded eyes. "You do realize that given our current positions, I could punch you right in your balls and you'd be on the ground, writhing in pain, while I barely had to move a muscle. And, most likely, I would use you as a foot stool. It'll be the most useful you've been since I've known you."

Cyrus stepped closer to him, meeting his dark gaze head-on. "Then do it! Do it! You talk so big but then when it comes to actually _doing_ anything, you Combusken out!" He snorted, crossing his arms and smirking. "For Miyamoto's sake, right? But it can't be! You two just _tolerate_ each other." He dropped his arms and held them out to his sides, leaving himself open for Giovanni to do with as he pleased. "So do it. Finally do it, Giovanni. What are you waiting for?"

Teeth and fists clenched, Giovanni stood and was now face-to-face with the man that had become the bane of his existence in almost a decade's time. "If you want someone to touch your balls so much," he hissed, "then might I suggest your own hand?"

Purposely he bumped Cyrus in the shoulder when he walked past him, heading for the front door. Let the little baby tattle on him - he didn't care anymore and he wasn't about to stick around listen to his thoughts on the subject of his life. At least he had a life. And at least the girl he was with in that life actually gave him the time of day. "Fucking idiot," he mumbled, slamming the door behind him.

He headed for one of the other homes currently occupied by Rockets. They weren't any good for conversation, being too intimidated by him to say or do much of anything, but at least they weren't Cyrus. That gave them unlimited points in his book. It was really a shame that with all the ways to kill someone at his disposal, Giovanni couldn't do anything to Cyrus. Even if he punched him he would hear about it until the end of time and about what a terrible influence he was on Jessie.

Turning the corner, he frowned at the cluster of agents hanging around outside the house. Very inconspicuous of them, the imbeciles. Before they noticed he was there, Giovanni overheard part of their conversation:

" - Boss has gotta be really upset."

"That presupposes that she has feelings." Some agents laughed while others ignored the comment entirely.

"Isn't it weird, though? All these years and she gives her an assignment and she's missing in some avalanche?"

"Madame Boss would _never_ do _that_," one agent said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Cutting his way into the group, Giovanni leaned in and whispered, "Even if some agents are so fucking useless that being frozen to death would be an improvement."

Some agents started to laugh again but it quickly stopped when everyone realized who had joined them. It was always awkward when he tried to mingle with the agents but this time, the awkwardness was so intense that it seemed as though all the bird Pokemon had stopped their chattering and the wind ceased to blow. Everything was eerily still and quiet.

"Now, would you mind filling me in on this latest round of gossip?" They all exchanged looks and then averted their gazes to anywhere but near Giovanni - which went over about as well as anyone could expect. "_You_," he said, pointing at one agent randomly and narrowing his eyes, "talk."

All the other agents took a large step back from the chosen one, as if his terrible luck would transfer to them like a virus. The agent swallowed hard, licking his lips and clearing his throat. "Um...well, you see, sir...we heard that there was this accident -"

Giovanni crossed his arms. "Yes, yes. I gathered that part."

He nodded and swallowed again, putting a hand to the back of his neck. "One of the best agents Team Rocket has ever had went on a mission and is missing and presumed dead."

"I can see how that would be upsetting. However," he said, walking toward the house, "I'm in dire need of company that won't make me want to throw them off a very steep cliff."

"Sucks for you, man," another agent whispered to the one tasked with giving Giovanni the information they had received.

The agent scowled and quickly went after his boss, stepping in front of him before he could open the front door. "It's just - we thought you might know her...Miyamoto?"

Giovanni's tension suddenly gave way and he stumbled backward, trying to regain his balance as his body worked against him. "What did you say?" he asked in a tone so soft that the other agents took another step back, afraid he was about to blow. "I'm sure that I didn't just hear you tell me that Miyamoto is presumed dead."

"I - I'm sorry, sir...I didn't know you were close at all, I just -"

"_Idiot_!" he yelled, shoving him back against the door. "Take me back to headquarters _immediately_ if you'd like the bulk of your blood to stay within your body!"

The agent nodded vigorously, slipping past Giovanni and around to the side of the house where their Team Rocket-issued Jeep sat. Giovanni followed, a multitude of feelings rising inside of him. He was angry, first and foremost; he was worried - much more than he wanted to be; he was panicked, a never-ending record of "what if"s playing back on repeat inside his head; he was sick to his stomach at the thought of what had happened to Miyamoto - and who may be to blame. As if he even had to guess.

"Cyrus is in charge now," Giovanni commanded with a slam of the door of the Jeep. "No one is to breathe a word of this to him. Is that understood?"

All the agents murmured and nodded, the one acting as Giovanni's chauffeur asking as he got in, "Isn't he her best friend? Shouldn't he be told?" He was met with an icy cold glare and a roar of a command to get going. Time was of the essence, after all; and his mother's time was about to run out.


	7. Freeze Frame

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Upon reaching headquarters, Giovanni instructed the poor agent that had driven him back to town to go tell whoever was in charge of it that they were to get the helicopter ready. When the agent questioned him about his mother, all he had to say in response was, "Getting her clearance won't be a problem anymore."<p>

He was seething in a way that he'd never experienced before. His mother was an awful person but he never thought she would actually hurt Miyamoto. They had been close once, Miyamoto the daughter that she never had, and he gave her the benefit of the doubt that somewhere inside her a heart still beat with some kind of feeling. What a fool he was.

Getting out of the elevator, he stormed to the office door, giving the poor assistant at the desk outside the finger before just walking right in. As far as he was concerned, this was _his_ office now, anyway. _She_ was the intruder.

Madame Boss looked up at him after the door had been slammed shut and locked. It took him aback for a moment how sickly she looked. Any worry was quickly replaced as the anger inside of him burned, rising back up the surface and starting to bubble over.

"Why aren't you in Pallet Town?" she asked blandly, already knowing the answer.

It was like nothing had happened. She looked like shit, had obviously found out about Miyamoto and Jessie, and now apparently murdered the former in the guise of a tragic accident. That warranted _some_ kind of response. _Any_ kind of response, even if it was joy.

"What did you do, mother," he stated more than actually asking.

She smirked at him and for the first time he really and truly hoped that his own smirk didn't resemble hers in any way. He wished nothing about him resembled her in any way. "I was preparing for our little experiment. So very sad, what happened." Slowly she stood from her desk, leaning on it for balance. Sick or not, she was still incredibly intimidating. "And wouldn't you know it, dear? We had Mew's DNA all along! How in the world someone could misplace such a thing -"

Giovanni growled and rushed her, shoving her back into her desk chair, much to her amusement. "How could you do that?! What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?!"

Madame Boss looked up at him, her eyes narrowing with every word she spoke, "You thought you were quite clever, didn't you? So many coincidences with you two and her _bastard_ child -"

"_Don't_ talk about Jessie that way or I swear, mother..."

"What? What will you do?" she taunted him the same way Cyrus had earlier in the day. Did everyone have a death wish? "You have nothing left to fight for now. You should go back to Pallet Town and continue your mission. There's nothing left for you here."

He stared at her for a few moments before his eyes widened, the slow, horrible realization hitting him like a mach punch to the jaw. "Where's Jessie?"

Madame Boss shrugged, shifting awkwardly against the chair that now seemed too large for her petite frame. "I honestly have no idea. She's alive, if that's what you want to know."

Giovanni had had it. He hadn't been able to run his own life for years now. He had to sit back and take everyone's shit - his mother's, Miyamoto's, Cyrus's - and now they were egging him on to stop being such a little bitch and do something about it. Take back his life. Make his own rules and then choose whether to follow them or break them. He certainly knew his mother's stance on the subject.

In a flash, his hand was gripping her neck, stopping himself just short of blocking all the air to her lungs and feeling the satisfaction of strangling the life out of her. "Where. Is. My. Daughter?"

His actions didn't seem to faze Madame Boss in the slightest; in fact, she was still amused by the very idea of her son nutting up and taking control. As long as she was alive, he would never dare to defy her. "An orphanage," she choked out, her dark eyes looking into her son's in a battle of strength that had been twenty-seven years coming. "I don't know which one. I didn't care which one. She's not in the city anymore, that's all I know."

His grip tightened around her neck, the rage he thought had reached its maximum now skyrocketing. "And Miyamoto?!"

"Dead," she managed to reply.

Giovanni shook his head, nails digging into the tender flesh of his mother's neck. "I don't believe that!"

Madame Boss kept her eyes on him, letting out a large gasp in an attempt to get air, saying to him quietly, weakly, "I don't care."

As if a switch had been flipped, Giovanni yelled and took his mother by the throat, slamming her down to the floor. He heard something pop and Madame Boss winced, gasping out in pain. He couldn't be bothered to care. Whatever it was wouldn't matter in a few minutes. He got to his knees next to her, whipping his other hand out and closing the gap around her neck. He pressed his thumbs against her throat, a twisted smile spreading across his lips as she began to hack and cough, reaching out for him with wide, unbelieving eyes.

He thought of everything she had done, claiming it to be in his best interests and because she loved him - but she was full of shit. His life had gone from fantastic to aggravating to tolerable and now, after all these years, it was crumbling around him - because of _her_. That thought made him tighten his grip and begin to shake her, her body like a rag doll. "Fucking _die_ already!" he yelled in her face - and with one more rough shake, she did as her son had asked. It was the first and last time that would ever happen.

He slammed her head back against the floor when he let her go, standing up and breathing heavily. He had always wondered what it would be like to kill someone in the most personal way possible - strangulation. The whole reason people did it, he surmised, was the power it gave them - power over life and death. He thought he had power before as the heir to the Team Rocket organization but that power was nothing in comparison to the surge he had felt finally bringing his mother to some long-over-due justice. It was truly intoxicating.

Giving Madame Boss's limp body one more look, he turned and went out the door. He had other much more important things to take care of now.

* * *

><p>Time seemed to have stopped for her; the ticking away of hours, minutes, and seconds frozen like everything around her. She had no idea how long she'd been there - days? Weeks? And what about Jessie? Was she okay or did Madame Boss try to get rid of her, too? That awful thought was what kept her going, kept her digging even after her makeshift escape tunnel would collapse around her and she was stuck having to dig her way back into the cave. By the third time it happened, she gave up for the moment and curled up against her backpack, squeezing her eyes shut.<p>

Miyamoto had defied death before - being shot at, attacked by both human and Pokemon alike, caught in explosions, all things that came with the territory of being a Rocket agent - but this time she truly didn't know if she would make it out the way she always did.

A shivering hand reached into her coat and pulled out a picture of Jessie. It was one of her favorites, for some reason. Jessie was crying in it, upset about something that she couldn't remember very clearly at the moment. She wore a yellow dress, her unruly hair tamed back into a ponytail with a bow keeping it together. Suddenly Miyamoto remembered - it was after she had returned home from her first day of school. Jessie was terribly upset because "a boy with a gross voice", as she had put it, kept trying to sit next to her and play with her and talk to her _all day_. She thought that he was being a big bully and had demanded her mother do something about it; but Miyamoto knew better. She explained to her that he was trying to show that he liked her. This revelation made Jessie cross her arms and pout, making the declaration that boys were stupid. From the mouths of babes.

A small "mew" echoed through the cave, making Miyamoto look up and smile weakly at the Pokemon that appeared floating before her. "And where have you been?"

The Pokemon mewed again, flying around the cave in excited circles before coming to rest on top of her head, peering down at her with big, blue eyes full of curiosity and wonder - it reminded her of Jessie.

She lifted the photo of her daughter up for Mew to see then closed her eyes once again. "This is my daughter, her name is Jessie. Isn't she cute?"

Mewing in response, the Pokemon inspected the photo closely, tilting its head to the side and back again before happily proclaiming, "Mew!"

Miyamoto was so tired, the cold and near-constant digging catching up to her. There were no more rations left in her bag, her hunger becoming more and more unbearable. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering, pressing her arms into her stomach, attempting to put it at ease somehow. When it growled in response, the Pokemon looked down at her and tilted its head again, mewing again in a questioning tone.

She forced one eye open to look at her new friend, her normally bright and shining green-blue eyes now near-lifeless and filled with sadness. "If you ever see her...Jessie...tell her how much I loved her...and that I tried. I really, really tried." Her eye closed again, a tear running down her face, warm and wet against her skin in all the cold.

The Pokemon looked closely at the tear, leaning in to touch its nose to it. It pulled its head back quickly and looked down at Miyamoto, her sorrow penetrating through its small body like its own avalanche. It gently wrapped its tail around the picture of Jessie and took one more look back at her mother. With another "mew" echoing, echoing, echoing against the icy walls, it disappeared in a pop, its own small firework.

* * *

><p>Giovanni waited impatiently for the helicopter to land at the same coordinates where the "avalanche" had occurred. As soon as the thing hit the ground, he would look for her and had given <em>explicit<em> instructions to the grunts that joined him to do the same, the only excuse for failure being that they themselves had frozen to death or fallen off the mountain.

He looked out the window to the blindingly white scene below him, eyes narrowing as they neared their destination. Even to the untrained eye it was obvious something had happened - a mound of snow rested against the mountain, looking out of place and awkward. His eyes scanned upward from that spot and he noticed the remaining dark singe marks on the side of the mountain, caused by the explosives responsible.

He smirked a little to himself, listening as two grunts chatted amongst themselves about how no one knew where Madame Boss was and couldn't get a hold of her. There apparently was a group of agents, headed by his mother's assistant, getting ready to bust down her office door and see if she was okay. How disappointed they would be. He would have to worry about how to get around the matricide thing once he knew what had really become of Miyamoto - and their daughter.

The helicopter had barely made an indent in the snow beneath it and Giovanni had the door open, hopping out and looking around. Where the hell did he even _start_? And once he did, was he actually prepared for what he might find? He pushed that thought out of his mind and took out a Pokeball, tossing it up in the air. "Rhyhorn! Help us dig!"

In a burst of light the huge, grey Pokemon emerged with a roar, stomping its feet into the snow while the others called out their own Pokemon and looked at a map, trying to decipher where exactly she could be trapped. It aggravated him that they were standing around, wasting time with that; then again, they would also be wasting time by digging aimlessly...nevertheless, he wanted action.

The wind blew, one huge gust that seemed to come out of nowhere, swirling the snow around in little tornados of sparkling white and stinging their cheeks. Once it stopped as quickly as it had started, Giovanni felt something - intuition prickling the back of his neck, making his heart beat faster. Seemingly in a daze, not entirely controlling his own body, he walked with purpose to a spot on the mound - it was nothing special, no sign of any kind that would make someone think it was the place to start. He pointed a few feet in front of himself, eyes locked on the area like a sniper waiting for their victim. "Here. We dig here." He turned to his Pokemon and nodded, it responding in another loud roar and stomp before starting to dig furiously at the snow with its front legs and horn.

He watched as the grunts and their Pokemon began to dig as well, making what he thought to be surprising progress. Another rush of cold air and he was moved again, actually going and joining in the rescue effort himself. He would probably never live it down if he was the one that broke through so desperately and saved her - he also didn't really care. At the moment, even a teasing, bitchy Miyamoto was better than a dead one.

* * *

><p>Noises were coming from above her, getting closer every second. If it was another avalanche, she was truly screwed. She made the decision that she would dig as much as she could one more time and when it inevitably collapsed, she would stay where she was and let whatever happened, happen. At least when they found her (if they ever did) Jessie could be comforted by the fact that she was trying to get out and come home to her, just as she'd promised.<p>

She used her backpack for leverage, pulling herself up into a standing position. Miyamoto walked, wobbly, two steps before needing to lean against the icy cave wall. She shut her eyes, fighting back tears again, thinking of how pleased Madame Boss must be right about now. Finally, she'd had her revenge and it had to be sweeter than honey. She should have known better than to try to outsmart her. Of all the damn people in the world, _she_ should have had known that something like this would happen. Not only had she hurt her by not accepting her offer to take over the company, but she had betrayed her in what was likely the worst possible way. It was nothing short of a miracle that Madame Boss managed to go this long without killing her.

Her sight was becoming blurry, the endlessness of the cave becoming even more foreboding as it all smudged together. She had lost the sound from above, the only thing in her ears being the slow, irregular beating of her heart combined with the breaths she found harder and harder to take.

The noise was at its loudest, right outside the opening of the cave, clumps of packed snow falling, splattered on the cave floor. Everything seemed so far away and dreamy, like white noise to help her finally go to sleep. She let out a small whimper and simply let her body give way, hoping that maybe she would crack her head open on the ground and not have to suffer anymore. She never hit the ground, though; a fuzzy, black mass that she thought had called out her name had caught her. The words jumbled in her head, unable to make out anything the mysterious figure was saying. She felt the presence of more things gathering around her but she couldn't keep herself from finally losing consciousness - though not before hearing clear as day the black figure's plea, "You can't die! I won't _let you_ die!"

* * *

><p>The first thing she saw was how bright it had suddenly become - much too bright. Nothing was in focus and squinting seemed to only make it worse. All she found herself able to do was groan and then try to get up, only to be met by tubes and wires winding around suddenly deafening machines, connecting back to her. She lifted a hand and felt her face, startled at first by the tubes leading up her nose, then feeling the sensation of cool, constant air being forced through to her lungs.<p>

Her senses came back gradually as she felt the strange sensation of IV fluids coursing through her veins and pain that seemed to envelop her whole body. She shut her eyes tightly and waited a few seconds before opening them again, her surroundings still fuzzy but much better than before. She scanned the room and, seeing the various medical supplies, concluded that she had to be in the hospital. Please, let it be the hospital and not headquarters. When her eyes made their way to the left side of her bed, she blinked several times, trying to make her vision clear once again to know for sure that she was, in fact, seeing what she was seeing.

Giovanni sat in a chair right next to her, elbow propped up on the arm and his head resting on his hand, sound asleep. From the looks of him, it was probably around the first time he'd strayed from being awake in...days.

She smiled a little, the innocence that he emitted when asleep a total contradiction of everything he was when he was awake. Maybe that was the real Giovanni, somewhere deep inside, only able to let itself show when he had no control over it. Miyamoto reached over and bit her lip, grabbing his arm and tugging it out from under him, causing him to nearly fall forward and off the chair.

His head jerked up angrily, ready to give the culprit the fucking beating of _their life_ when he saw who actually had done it. Immediately his demeanor softened and he grabbed for her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, not knowing if he would ever be able to talk to her or look into her eyes again and now finally getting his answer.

Miyamoto couldn't help but laugh softly - though it made her cough - returning his gaze with a look on her face that she knew probably showed much more affection than she would have liked. "Had to wake you somehow."

Giovanni averted his eyes from her, looking instead at her hand as his fingers played with hers, every time they'd ever touched him before suddenly flooding into his mind: passionate, angry, playful, violent - those hands had changed his life. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Well, you know me..." she began, moving her hand and his up to brush her thumb against his lips, "just can't seem to stay out of trouble."

He brought her hand to his cheek, nuzzling it and closing his eyes. He was over the moon that she was okay - and, more importantly, already giving him the business again - but what had plagued him as much as her condition over the past two days had been the idea of telling her what his mother had done to them and that Jessie was gone. How was he supposed to tell her that? He didn't even want to believe it himself. "I noticed."

Suddenly her brow furrowed and she tried to sit up again, wincing in pain and getting a scolding look from Giovanni. "I have to show you...I have to tell you -"

He shook his head. "You don't have to do anything right now but rest. You nearly died, for fuck's sake."

"But I _didn't_ and it was because of Mew!"

Giovanni blinked at her, his eyebrow slowly raising, looking at her questioningly. "Mew, huh?"

She nodded, smiling at him. "Sometimes it would help me try to dig my way out. And then sometimes it would float around and do flips in mid-air, trying to make me laugh and stay awake. It always seemed to show up just when I needed it to...just when I was ready to give up."

Deciding that now wasn't quite the right time to get into an argument with her about something that, in the end, was truly trivial, he just smiled back at her. "Good. I'm glad you weren't alone."

Miyamoto blinked and then looked around the room again before turning her attention back to Giovanni, brows furrowed once again in worry and confusion. "Where's Jessie?"

He let his head fall, hanging almost between his knees. She couldn't give him _five minutes_ before he had to break her heart so soon after it had started to work again? "We'll talk later. Please, just rest."

Her stomach dropped at his response, shaking her head slowly, feeling tears beginning to sting at her eyes. "She's...she's not...your mother didn't..."

Giovanni shook his head as well, keeping his gaze focused on the floor. Maybe it would form a hole and he would fall through into the abyss. "She's alive."

She let out a sigh of relief, resting her head back against the pillows and closing her eyes. "And _I_ scare the shit out of _you_. Right."

He swallowed hard, closing his eyes as well but for much different reasons. "She's not here, though."

Miyamoto opened her eyes and looked at him, tilting her head in much the same way Mew had when trying to understand. "Where is she?"

"An orphanage. Somewhere. Mother didn't tell me where and it's nowhere in any records. I don't even know what agents to threaten to get them to tell me where they took her." Giovanni glanced up at her, his head still lowered, voice wavering, "I let her down. I let you both down."

She shook her head, trying hard to blink back the tears, the strange, new feeling of not wanting to make Giovanni feel any worse coming over her. "You didn't. How could you know?"

"Because it was _my mother_, Miyamoto. How fucking stupid was I to think that she was clueless? She was never clueless about anything else."

She looked at him sadly and squeezed his hand, making him jump a little, having forgotten that he still hadn't let go of hers. Reflecting on his words for a moment, she asked cautiously, "Why are you talking about her as if she's dead?"

"Because she is," he stated simply, adding, "I killed her."

"You _what_?!" Miyamoto yelled, it turning into a coughing fit.

"She sent us on a bullshit mission to the next podunk town over to get me and Cyrus out of the way so she could murder you! _And_ rip Jessie away from the only home she's ever known! What did you _think_ was going to happen?"

She shook her head, still coughing, pointing to a glass which Giovanni then filled with water and handed to her. After a long sip, she slammed it back down on the table next to her. "I knew you were a prick, but I never thought for a second that you were capable of murder."

He sighed, slumping back in the chair, closing his eyes again - if he didn't see it, it didn't exist and wasn't happening, right? "She didn't care. She wasn't...anything. She wasn't happy or sad. She wasn't even mad. I don't know what the fuck she was." He opened his eyes and looked at her, his eyes meeting her own. "She was a monster."

They stared intensely at each other, neither one making a move or a sound until she finally broke the silence, asking quietly, "Why did you care so much? I understand...Jessie but...but not me. I thought you would be dancing on my grave. Hell, I thought you were involved in the whole thing."

"What?" he said, unable to hide the shock and hurt in both his voice and face. "I would never -"

"You did it to _her_."

"That's different, fuck's sake, Miyamoto!" He finally dropped her hand and stood, walking to the end of the bed, his back to her. "Jessie is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. You're the most aggravating thing that ever happened to me. Put you both together and you have the only two girls in my life that I've ever actually -" He stopped and shook his head, turning it to look out the window. "I love you, all right? You're the biggest bitch I've ever known, next to my mother, and the thought of going on without you - without Jessie - makes me want to go to the roof of HQ and jump right the fuck off of it."

She stared at him, silent for longer than what he probably would have liked. "Come here, ass."

He turned around and looked at her, frowning. "What? So you can smack me?"

"Oh, for the love of -" Miyamoto rolled her eyes and jabbed her finger out to point at the chair. "_Sit_."

He returned her eye roll as he slumped back down in the chair next to her. "Now what?"

She reached out and flicked her finger against his forehead sharply.

His hand immediately went to the abused spot, rubbing it as he grumbled, "Fucking hell..."

"You're a man whore killer that makes me so _infuriated_ sometimes, I wish I could punt you across the whole damn region." She took a deep breath, her tone and eyes softening, "You also saved my life and aren't too shitty of a father."

"Gosh, Miyamoto. Thanks!" he said sarcastically, crossing his arms.

"You're so fucking dumb. I'm trying to tell you that I feel the same way!"

"Well, you've got a really fucked up way of doing it!"

"Oh, and calling me a bitch _wasn't_?"

"You should know by now that it's a term of endearment coming from me."

"_Ass_."

"_Bitch_."

They both eyed each other, scowling, arms crossed across their chests. Giovanni blinked first and, still scowling, arms crossed, leaned over and kissed her. She reciprocated, scowling and defensive all the way. When he pulled away, they resumed glaring at each other.

"Let's find our daughter," he said, receiving a single nod of agreement in response.

"And when we do, let's screw right on your mother's desk."

Giovanni's scowl morphed into a smirk. "_My_ desk now."

"_Our_ desk."

His smirk broadened as he leaned forward again, kissing her once more, his lips lingering against hers. "Think Jessie would like a sibling?"

She kept her lips fixed on his as well, still shoving him the shoulder. "Slow your roll." Miyamoto broke the kiss, snuggling back down against the sheets with a yawn. "You promise that we'll find her?"

He pulled the blanket up and over her shoulders then brushed some of her hair from her face. "I promise. I won't let you down again."

She nodded slightly, letting her eyes fall shut as she murmured, "Ass..."

Giovanni rolled his eyes, a smile on his lips, kissing her softly on the forehead and whispering into her ear, "Bitch."

* * *

><p>The past week in Pallet Town had been nightmarish. Not only had Giovanni up and left without so much as a "goodbye" but now he had all these other Rockets to worry about - <em>and<em> Delia breathing down his neck. He could only go for so long without telling her what a real bastard the guy was. The only reason he hadn't thus far was the fear of their mission being compromised - another lovely parting gift from Giovanni for him to deal with.

He had tried calling Madame Boss at headquarters and got no response - not even her assistant picking up to take a message. It was odd, especially given the timing of it and Giovanni's disappearing act; but for all he knew, she'd given him a phony number to begin with just to make him feel important and piss off Giovanni.

Sitting out on the front steps of what was now _his_ house, Cyrus frowned in concentration, furiously clicking and typing at his Rocket-issued laptop, attempting to hack into the city building commission's site and nab the blueprints to Professor Oak's lab. _Someone_ had to try and accomplish something, here.

"Cyrus?"

He looked up and a wave of dread washed over him. Why did Giovanni leave him with this mess? If he thought he was going to dump Delia for him and let her down easy, he was sadly mistaken - if anything, he would expose him for the creep that he really was. "Hey, Delia. He's still not back."

She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip and glancing away from him. It was so weird to think that Giovanni had been into her. She was gorgeous, by Cyrus's standards; but by Giovanni's he thought for sure that the guy wouldn't look at her twice. He wished now that he hadn't. "I - I figured as much."

When she didn't leave right away, he blinked, coaxing her to talk, "Is there something else? I swear, I really don't know where he is. If I did, trust me, you would be the first person to know besides me."

"No, no! I never thought - I think you're just as out of the loop as I am..." she started, her eyes darting down to the ground, "I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Cyrus blinked again and closed his laptop, setting it down next to him and patting the step on the other side, signalling for her to sit down. "Yeah, sure. What's up?"

Delia sat cautiously, bringing her knees up to her chest, her hair cascading down over her shoulders, long enough to nearly reach the step itself. "I was going to tell him on our next date. It was going to be very romantic and intimate -"

He made a face, waving his hands in front of it at her. "Okay, um. You can't talk about stuff like that. I mean, can you _please_ not talk about stuff like that? It's...gross."

She laughed softly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear and nodding. "Sorry." She sighed heavily and rested her head against the railing next to her. "I guess you won't like what I have to talk about then, anyway."

Shaking his head, he shrugged, turning to face her better. "As long as there are no specifics -"

"I think I'm pregnant."

Cyrus stared at her, certain that he'd heard her wrong. "You're what?"

She blushed, turning her head away from him and mumbling once again, "Pregnant."

He continued to stare, trying to process what she was saying in his head. Unable to stop himself, he began to laugh bitterly, putting his head in his hands. "Oh, man. That guy."

Delia frowned and looked back at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Cyrus didn't move but his voice had changed to a cold tone to match his inappropriate and dark laughter, "You're the second girl he's gotten pregnant - that we even know of. He could have kids running around Kanto for all I know."

It was her turn to stare now. Part of her couldn't believe what she was hearing, the other part suddenly realizing that it all made sense. Only someone with vast experience could have been so charming and flirtatious, making it seem as though he truly cared about her and what she wanted to do and how ready she was...when all it was about from day one was getting her in bed. She was just another stupid girl duped by the son of a bitch. "Is that why he ran?" she asked quietly. "He sleeps with someone and then dumps them and moves on to the next?"

Cyrus rubbed his hands across his face and then shrugged. "Probably. The only person he ever actually hung around for was the mother of the kid he has now but..." He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head again, hoping he didn't have to get into the lunacy that was Giovanni and Miyamoto's relationship. "That's really complicated stuff."

"Is he...is he still..._with_ her?"

"Not...uh. Not physically like that, no. I mean, I don't think so. She would never let that happen again."

"Then what is it?"

He let out a heavy sigh and looked at her sympathetically, understanding all too well the feeling of trying to understand why two people who seemed to hate each other so much on the outside couldn't move on to different mates - mates like him and Delia. "I'm pretty sure he's in love with her, in his own messed up way."

Delia swallowed hard, nodding slightly and lowering her head. "I guess that's nice. She's the mother of his child and all..."

"You're going to be one, too, though. Aren't you pissed off that he just went off somewhere without telling you anything?"

"I'm hurt more than anything," she replied, sitting there for a few more brief seconds before standing up and wiping off her shorts. "I should go. If you ever do see Giovanni again -"

Cyrus nodded, smiling slightly at her. "Yeah. I'll tell him."

Delia returned the smile sadly and made her way down the front walk, stopping for a moment to greet one of the Rockets that she had inadvertently befriended as he came to see Cyrus.

He put his elbows on his knees and head on his hands, waiting for them to finish talking and the kid to no doubt come ask him a stupid question or give him bad news - that had been the way the week had been going, after all.

The grunt trotted up to him on the steps, looking back at Delia as she walked down the road. "She's so pretty, isn't she? Giovanni is really lucky."

"Yeah," Cyrus replied flatly. "He's a regular four-leaf clover, that guy."

The grunt quickly turned his attention back to him, laughing nervously and putting his hand behind his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean -"

"What brings you over here?" he interrupted, wanting to just get on with it. Even the aggravation that hacking caused was better than the aggravation the real world had caused him thus far.

"Um, well...the mission's over, I guess."

Cyrus blinked and raised an eyebrow at him. "Who says?"

"The new boss..."

"_New_ boss?"

The grunt nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Madame Boss is dead and now Giovanni's taken control. Um..." He paused for a second, thinking of what else he had to tell his superior. "Oh! And...I - I really hate to be the one to tell you this but -"

"Oh, wonderful. There's more," Cyrus grumbled, standing with his laptop in hand.

The grunt swallowed and looked down his boots. "Your friend Miyamoto, she's missing and probably dead. I - I mean, she could still definitely be alive but -"

"_What_?" Cyrus snapped, nearly dropping his laptop on the steps below. "Why didn't you say that first thing?! She's my best friend!"

The grunt gestured to him weakly. "...This. This is why...um, sir."

He thrust the laptop into the grunt's arms and jumped down off the steps, starting for one of the other Rocket houses, calling back, "Do we still have cars?"

Nodding, the grunt tried to follow him but was stopped when Cyrus jerked around, a look on his face that he couldn't ever recalling seeing before - even when he was going at it with Giovanni. "Sir?"

"I'm going to headquarters. You and the others gather all of this stuff up and once you do, come back to Viridian, too." Getting confirmation from the grunt and a salute, Cyrus went on his way.

* * *

><p>The first place he ran to once he'd reached headquarters was Miyamoto's. After knocking and calling for her, then for Jessie, he used his shoulder to slam into the door and break it open. Everything was quiet inside the once-lively shack. Slowly, he walked around, inspecting anything and everything for some kind of clue or sign as to what happened. He noticed that some of Miyamoto's clothes were missing, as were Jessie's. Her favorite doll was gone as well, something that he wasn't sure he should be relieved or worried about. The whole place looked as though no one had been there in days - weeks?<p>

He sat down on the extremely modest couch in the living room, staring blankly straight ahead at the wall. How could this have happened? Miyamoto would never leave Jessie and take on the dangerous type of missions she used to. Madame Boss didn't even _give_ her those anymore. His eyes narrowed and he clenched his teeth, "Giovanni" hissing from his lips. This had to be all his doing - his mother's death, Miyamoto going missing...and where was Jessie? He didn't know whether he should hope that Giovanni took her in and she was living it up in his penthouse or that she had escaped or been sent away...none of them seemed like the lesser of three evils.

Closing the door gingerly behind him, wanting everything to remain as it was just in case one day Miyamoto and Jessie returned, he started from the small home, running both of his hands back through his hair. What did he do now? Did he go confront Giovanni? Cyrus balked at that idea. Now that he was fairly certain the guy was capable of murder, rushing inside and swearing at him didn't seem like the best choice. If Miyamoto and Jessie _did_ ever come back, he wanted to be there for them and not six feet under.

"Are you looking for them?" A turquoise-haired little boy from across the way yelled to him.

Cyrus blinked up at him and then nodded, making his way over to him. "Do you know where they went?"

The boy nodded as well. "Her mom was sent on a mission, far away. That little girl..." Cyrus noticed the kid blush and look down at his feet. "Um, Jessie or something. I don't remember. She stayed here with us for a couple of days. And then my dad and a bunch of other agents came and took her away somewhere." He made a face, long bangs falling into his eyes. "I dunno where. Dad's not allowed to talk about that kind of stuff."

He knelt down in front of the boy, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Is your dad here? Can _I_ talk to him?"

The little boy shook his head. "Nuh-uh. He's in there." He pointed up to the building that towered over the meager homes - headquarters.

"Do you mind if I wait here for him?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. He's been gone in there for three days."

Cyrus's eyes narrowed slightly, his stomach plummeting to the ground. If you didn't live in HQ, the odds that you would go in and after three days come back out alive were not good ones; but of course, it made perfect sense. Giovanni had to have killed the guy to keep him quiet about what he'd done with Jessie. He didn't even care that he was leaving this little boy without a father and the family without any income. He was such a selfish son of a bitch.

Standing, he put his hand on the boy's head and forced a small smile. "Well, when he gets back, tell him Cyrus wants to see him, okay?"

The boy nodded and smiled back at him. "Sure!" He called after him as Cyrus began walking away, "Thank you for not teasing me!"

Cyrus stopped and turned around, raising an eyebrow at the kid. "Tease you?"

"Yeah. Because of my voice."

He smiled genuinely this time and shook his head, waving his hand in dismissal. "Didn't even notice it, buddy." A partial lie to be sure - he had noticed, of course, but once the boy started giving him information, it didn't seem to stick out as much.

Turning back around, Cyrus headed for the back of the compound - past the tiny shacks and giant factory, the only thing it produced being mystery. He'd never actually seen anything come out of it but had seen plenty of _people_ rushing in and out, most of them in lab coats. What did it matter now? They could all blow themselves straight to Johto for all he cared.

He stood at the chain-link fence that separated Rocket property from the alley behind it. He looked past the fence into the alley, watching as some Meowths bounced around and played in the trash while a large Persian watched with a yawn. That was how life was, wasn't it? Those Pokemon were perfectly nice - adorable, even - and here they were forced to live on the streets. Just like how Miyamoto, Jessie, and Delia had been perfectly nice and innocent but Giovanni destroyed all of their lives, his "punishment" being even _more_ money and power and influence than he'd had before. How was that right? How did the world spin on as though these atrocities weren't going on? How could anyone _accept_ that this was the way it was supposed to be?

Cyrus jumped up on the fence, climbing it and then maneuvering his way across the rolls of barbed wire at the top - only getting moderately stabbed and scratched in the process - before swinging his leg over and hopping down on the other side.

It wasn't as though he had been trapped there. He'd just come from another town, for crying out loud; but when his feet touched the cement, he felt freedom for the first time in a very, very long time. He looked back to the other side of the fence, at the world he once fought so hard to be a part of and make proud...now a hollow shell that truly meant nothing to him. Whatever had happened, Miyamoto wasn't coming back. Neither was Jessie. Giovanni saw to that and he certainly wasn't about to bow to that miserable excuse for a human being and call him "sir" and "boss." No way in hell.

He turned back and faced the alley, walking toward the family of Meowths and Persian. One Meowth bounded up to him with a tiny "mew" and he smiled, kneeling down in front of it and gently petting its head. Mama Persian watched intently and, once she was satisfied that her baby wasn't in any danger, yawned and rested her head back against her paws. "I hope that everything goes up from here for you and your family, little Meowth. And if it doesn't..." he trailed off, scratching under the little kitten's chin to loud purrs in return, "...I'll make it better. I'll make this whole universe better. For everyone like us. For my friend Miyamoto." He stood up, getting wails of "mew"ing in response from the Meowth but making himself walk on. "And to take that son of a bitch Giovanni _down_. Forever."


	8. The Right Thing

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Jessie sat at the kitchen table, her breakfast untouched in front of her, glaring at the boy across from her who was kicking his legs, trying to play footsie with her. He was grinning at her sheepishly as he shoveled cereal into his mouth, his turquoise hair falling into his eyes until he shook it back again. He kicked her once more and she growled, gripping the table for leverage and scooting down slightly on her chair, kicking her own foot and hitting him in the leg - <em>hard<em>. He winced and pushed his chair back, looking down at his leg and rubbing it. She smiled with satisfaction and began to eat.

This had been the way her time spent with the neighbors had gone thus far. The annoying little boy - Botch or some stupid thing - always trying to get her attention and impress her. The day before he had been jumping on the bed when she came in and immediately he tried to do a flip in mid-air, only to bounce off the bed and hit the floor, right on his rear end. She laughed at him and turned, leaving him there on the ground.

She remembered what her mother had told her about him and boys in general - they were mean and annoying and stupid all to try and show that they actually liked you. It was lame, in her opinion; why couldn't they just say how they felt? Why was it so weird? She made a promise to herself that day that if she ever ended up liking a boy (fat chance), she would tell him right away and not act like a dummy about it. It's not like it was that hard to tell someone you liked them. All the princesses and princes in her stories had no problem with it. Boys weren't princes, though and this fact was becoming clearer and clearer the older she got.

There was a sudden knock at the door, making both Butch and Jessie look up to the clock on the wall. It was still early - before school and everything - who would come to visit _now_? They both watched with piqued interest as his mother opened the door slightly and began to have what sounded like a very heated conversation with the person on the other side. Jessie glanced back at Butch who gave her a puzzled look and shrugged.

Visibly upset, Butch's mother moved away from the door and crossed her arms as Butch's father and two other Team Rocket agents entered the house. They all seemed to avoid making eye contact with her, which was sort of a nice break from Butch's idol-worship.

"Jessie, sweetie," Butch's father said with a sigh, "we have to take you somewhere now."

She frowned, getting up from her seat slowly, eying the men suspiciously. "Where are we going?"

The men all exchanged looks, Butch's father continuing to speak, "Somewhere where you'll need all the things you brought over from your house. Do you think you can pack those back up and come with us?"

Jessie took a step back from them and shook her head. "I wanna know where we're going!"

Butch scrambled up from his seat and stood next to her, puffing out his chest and crossing his arms against it, adding, "Yeah!" She rolled her eyes.

The men began to advance toward her, the feeling of dread that came over her as they did almost unbearable for such a little girl. "We really need to get going now..."

Pushing her back behind him, Butch stood up straighter, glaring at his father and the other men. "You aren't taking her anywhere! She belongs here!"

His father glanced back and gave a look to Butch's mother. She narrowed her eyes at him and made her way over to the two kids, putting her arm around Butch and leading him away from Jessie without a word.

Though she hated to think it, she had felt a little better when Butch was there; now she felt exposed and vulnerable. She backed up again, moving around to the other side of the table. "I - I wanna stay here...mama thinks I'm here. When she comes back, she won't be able to find me if I leave."

Butch's mother looked at his father expectantly, struggling to keep hold of their son as he yelled, kicked, punched, and wriggled in her grasp. Butch's father ran a hand through his hair - the same turquoise color as Butch's - and reached out to her, grabbing her hand and holding onto it tightly. "We have to go, Jessie."

She shook her head again furiously, trying to get out of his grasp and opting for kicking him in the shins the way she had Butch. When it did nothing, she started punching his chest with her free hand, shrieking at the top of her lungs to go away and leave her alone. One of the other men stepped in then, wrapping his arms around her from behind and holding her tightly - something that only made her scream louder and join Butch in attempting to escape.

His father and the other agent went into the room she was staying in and came back out with her things. One agent made his way to the car out front, the other one that held her now-crying body following. Butch's father looked back at his family helplessly, walking out to join the others, the door slamming shut behind him.

* * *

><p>"Can I see what you're drawing, Jessie?" She shrugged and handed the piece of paper up to the orphanage's psychologist, who furrowed her brow at what she saw. "Why did you color almost this entire paper black?"<p>

"You said to draw how I was feeling."

The psychologist frowned more, kneeling down next to her. "Can you explain it to me?"

Jessie sighed heavily, annoyed that her artistic license was being put into question. "I feel like that. Inside my head and my heart." She pointed to her head, explaining, "Here because I can't remember." She placed her hand over her heart, continuing, "Here because it feels empty. When something's empty, it's dark and black."

She got down on her knees now, pulling her legs underneath herself and sitting next to Jessie, placing the paper back on the table. "I know we've discussed this before but do you think you could tell me again what the last thing you remember was?"

She shrugged again, grabbing the black crayon and continuing her picture. "Really good or kinda fuzzy?"

"Both."

"Well...the fuzzy things are my mama. I can't picture her too good but I know she was nice and loved me a lot. The last thing I really, _really_ remember was this family I was with. Then I remember screaming and crying a lot. And then I woke up here!"

The psychologist nodded slowly and smiled slightly at her, patting her on the head as she stood. There was a knock at the door just as she did so and she went over to answer it, a little annoyed that someone was interrupting her session. "Yes? What is it?"

One of the workers at the orphanage gestured with their head toward the main office. "You've got a phone call."

"Can you please take a message and tell them I'll call them back? I'm with a -"

"You'll want to talk to them." The worker glanced past her at Jessie and then looked back at the psychologist. "_Now_."

The psychologist raised her eyebrow in curiosity and looked back at Jessie as well, then to the worker. "Can you stay with her until I get back?"

The worker nodded. "Yeah, sure thing."

* * *

><p>Giovanni sighed, placing his phone back on its receiver. He rubbed his eyes, suddenly wishing he had done more to his mother than simply strangle her. Torture and maim, perhaps. That was what she deserved. What he did was far too humane for someone like her.<p>

"Well," Miyamoto said as she entered the office, closing the door behind her, "Cyrus has totally disappeared. He's not in his room, he didn't come back with the rest -"

"Sit down for a second," he interrupted, rubbing his face with his hands.

She eyed him warily, slowly making her way to the chair in front of his desk and sitting down. "What is it?"

Letting out another heavy sigh, he then took a deep breath. "I didn't want to tell you until I knew. Now I do and I'm still not sure I want to tell you."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "And I couldn't beat it out of you? Right."

He looked up at her and could see how surprised she was at how upset he must have looked. After everything they had been through together, both had finally stopped trying to hide their real feelings from each other. Giovanni still thought it made him look weak but Miyamoto had seen him at his lowest points - she was the only one he could take off the mask with and be himself. "It's about Jessie."

Her eyes widened and she got up, running around to the other side of the desk and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You found her! When do we get to see her? When can we bring her home?"

He pulled back from her and shook his head, placing his hands on her upper arms. "We can't. We don't."

She looked at him, partly puzzled and partly annoyed. "Then what _are _we doing?"

Giovanni turned in his chair and stood, going to the window and looking out over the city of Viridian. "She's at an orphanage in Celadon City."

Miyamoto sat down in his chair now, crossing her arms and legs, snorting in response. "Your mother didn't mess around, did she?"

Ignoring her comment, he continued, "They're worried about her state of mind."

"What? She's only seven-years-old."

He shook his head and then lowered it to look down at the floor, the very spot where he had killed his mother. "She's suffering from selective amnesia. She can't - or doesn't want to - remember anything before staying with that family. Fuzzy images of you, that's it."

Miyamoto stood but didn't move, staring at the back of his head and swallowing hard. "Why did this happen?"

"The traumatic experience of being taken away and sent to the orphanage. That's what they've gathered, at least."

She swallowed again and turned around, her back to him, resting her hand on the back of the chair. "I can't...I don't understand why we can't go see her. Wouldn't it make it better? Wouldn't it help her?"

Giovanni shook his head again, eyes still locked on the same spot on the floor. "They're afraid it would truly screw her up. Right now, at any rate." He paused, clenching his teeth and fists suddenly. "My mother did this to her. As if it weren't enough to try and kill you in a way that would prolong your suffering, she had to destroy Jessie as well."

Miyamoto walked over to him, reaching a hand down to his clenched fist and pulling it open, taking it in her own with a squeeze. "She didn't kill me, though. And Jessie's mine - _ours_. If there's a stronger kid out there, I'd like to meet them."

He pulled his hand away from hers, walking over to the mini-bar his mother had barely used but he seemed unable to live without since taking control. "I think we need to let her go."

She blinked at him, laughing slightly, walking over to join him. "You're not serious."

Pouring himself a glass of scotch and handing the bottle to her, he nodded. "I am. I wish it would've happened differently and without causing her so much pain but...in a way, this is a blessing in disguise for her."

She put the bottle back on the bar and glared at him, putting her hands on her hips. "What _the fuck_ are you talking about?"

"She got away. She got away scot-free. She doesn't remember Team Rocket or anything that happened while she was here." He turned to look at her, sadness in his eyes. "She has a chance now to live the life we always wanted for her."

Miyamoto shook her head, lifting a hand and slapping him across the cheek. "No way in hell."

He didn't react, putting the glass back down on the bar. "We know where she is. They can tell us anything and everything she does - where she goes."

She turned away from him, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm not going to watch my daughter grow up from thousands of miles away."

"You would rather she grow up right here? I've already killed three people today, Miyamoto. _Three_. Do you want her around that?"

"Of course not!" she said, spinning back around to face him again. "So stop killing people!"

"They were the ones that took her, I couldn't just -"

"They were only doing their jobs. It's not their fault your mother was a psycho."

He sighed, pouring himself another drink and downing it quickly. "I was thinking that when she turns ten, I would pay for her to attend Pokemon Tech. We would still know where she was and how she was doing and she would be getting a better education than anywhere else in Kanto."

"It sounds like you've already just up and decided that we're abandoning her."

"I grew up within Team Rocket, Miyamoto. Regardless of your acceptance of who I am, the way I was raised and the environment that I was raised _in_ made me who I am today. You don't want that for Jessie."

She shook her head and crossed her arms, turning her head and looking out the window. "I don't want her to be alone," she whispered.

"We're _all_ alone. It doesn't matter who might sit next to you or share your bed - at the end of it all, we're alone."

She sat down on the couch, bringing her legs up to her chest and burying her face in her knees, letting the tears come out. "She'll never understand!" she cried, voice muffled against her legs. "What if she finds us? How can we possibly explain?"

Giovanni sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her. She moved her head from her knees and buried her face in his neck, clutching his shirt as she cried harder. "We tell her the truth - that we wanted something better for her."

Miyamoto shook her head against him, murmuring against his skin, "But she's our daughter..."

He took a deep breath and rubbed at his own eyes, forcing the tears back before lifting her chin slightly, looking down at her tear-stained face that looked so much like Jessie's. "It's the right thing to do."

She buried her face back against his neck and continued to cry, unable to stop despite knowing deep down that he was right. Giovanni held her close, resting his head on top of hers, the tears now spilling down his cheeks as well.

They held each other and cried for themselves and their daughter; for the years and experiences they would miss together; for doing the right thing.


	9. Never Ever

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>The boy with the periwinkle hair stood awkwardly outside the limousine that had brought him there. Students stared and whispered as they passed by, his extravagant way of traveling even a bit too much for those who had the good fortune to attend the exclusive school. His hands clutched a large suitcase, a backpack hanging off his shoulders, filled with things he was certain he would never need but his mother had insisted upon packing. He turned and looked just in time to see the limo speed away much faster than he thought possible, leaving behind in its wake a cloud of dust that made him sneeze.<p>

He let his hair fall in his eyes and against his face as he made his way to his reserved dorm room, avoiding eye contact with anyone and everyone. He wasn't thrilled at the idea of being there but it would be like a vacation in comparison to what he had waiting for him at home. It made him shudder to even think about it.

Making himself comfortable once he reached his room, he began to unpack, eying the empty bed across the room with discontent. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to interact with anyone more than what he had to. Now he had a roommate to contend with and, it being the boys floor, probably a huge bully that would make life as unbearable here as it was at home.

He sighed, sitting down on the bed and looking down at his perfectly shined dress shoes. He couldn't really _blame_ anyone if they tried to bully him - he was making it easy, after all. Making a face, he kicked off the shoes and sat with his legs crossed under him on the bed. He wouldn't be able to unpack and make himself at home until he met his roommate.

He stared to doze, head slowly lowering as the will to keep it up disappeared into sleepiness, only to jerk it up again when the pain in the back of his neck brought him back to the waking world. It was in the middle of one of these brief naps that his roommate arrived, startling him with their presence when he woke again.

He thought for a moment that maybe he was still asleep and was dreaming - a really nice dream, but still only a dream. There putting their clothes away in the closet was..._a girl_. He grabbed a lock of his hair and frowned, staring at it and wondering if he'd accidentally been mistaken for one himself and was actually on the girls floor. Looking at the girl again, his eyes widened and a hot blush covered his face, quickly looking away. She was putting her..._unmentionables_ away and he thought he would truly die of embarrassment - or of her smacking him and calling him a pervert.

"Hey, you're awake."

His head jerked back in her direction, thankful that she had apparently finished putting away her girl stuff. He nodded, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. "You do realize that this is the boys floor...don't you?"

She stopped and looked around the room then shrugged, returning to unpacking. "Weird. This is my room, though. Probably got confused because of the name."

He blinked at her, cocking his head. "What name?"

The girl laughed and shook her head at him. "_My_ name, dummy. It's Jessie."

"_Oh_!" he cried in realization, scolding himself silently for being such a complete and total idiot. "Um, I'm James." He stood and held out his hand, a small smile on his face.

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow, glancing down at his hand. "Hi," she said in reply, slapping his hand with her own and grinning.

He pulled his hand away and hid it behind his back, trying to ignore how much it stung. "We should tell someone about the mistake. I don't think they would like it very much if they found out a girl and a boy were roommates."

The girl hopped on her bed, her braided magenta pigtails bouncing as she did. "Who cares? That's dumb. Besides, I've already unpacked."

James made a face but quickly stopped, remembering his manners and that proper gentlemen didn't do that kind of thing for fear that it might freeze that way. "You mean you don't mind sharing a room with me?"

She shook her head and smiled at him. "I'm used to sharing with boys."

"Oh, you have brothers, then?"

Jessie looked down, sliding her hands under her thighs to sit on them. "Sort of," she said quietly.

James sat back down on his bed, glancing at her every now and then, wondering if it was always this weird when normal boys and girls were together. It was certainly weird when he got together with Jessibelle. "Do you want to compare schedules?" he asked after minutes of silence between them.

She looked up and smiled a little, nodding and grabbing her schedule from her backpack while he did the same. Going over to his bed, she plopped down next to him and pulled her legs up underneath her. "Okay, on three we switch and look at the other's schedule."

He nodded, still unfolding the paper when she shouted, "Three!" and grabbed it from his hands, tossing her own into his lap. He hadn't even had the chance to look at hers yet and she was already scanning down his, her smile broadening as she did. "Do we have any classes together?" he asked.

"Only like, every single one!" she cried happily, leaning over and throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him. "We're going to have the best time ever, James!"

His green eyes grew wide at the sudden affection, not used to being touched in any way that didn't result in some kind of pain. He swallowed hard, his cheeks growing hot and red again. "Y - Yeah. Yeah. It'll be fun..." He paused and bit his lip, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her back gently. "...Jessie."

* * *

><p>A lot had changed from that first meeting and all of it for the better, in James's opinion. He and Jessie had quickly become best friends, the latter protesting - loudly, at that - when the school found out about their living arrangements and wanted to move her to the girls floor. She had staged a sit-in, claiming that the two of them wouldn't come out of their room until they agreed to let her stay there and let them stay roommates for all of their time at the school. He thought dragging him into her drama without even asking was rude and now, thinking back to that day, James had to laugh to himself at the notion of ever <em>not<em> being dragged into Jessie's drama. Her tactic had worked in the end, anyway and the two had been just about inseparable ever since.

Rumors swirled around about their relationship and whenever she happened to find out who the culprit was that had started them, Jessie would do what she did best in those confrontational types of situations: kick them in the shins and threaten them with further bodily harm. No one really took her seriously until one day, during their second year, an upperclassman was harassing James, teasing him and calling him "rich fag boy." When Jessie showed up in the middle of one of the guy's assaults, she dropped her books and bag - _everything_ - and ran at him screaming as loud as a screech attack. Before the guy could even look to see what was happening, she was on top of him and socking him in the face. James took the longest cold shower any twelve-year-old had ever taken that day.

James knew that she didn't get upset at the idea of the two of them as a couple - more at the fact that people were keeping secrets from her and talking behind her back. Honesty was a huge deal for her, which made him a little nervous. He grew up with _brutal_ honesty and had been scared the first time they stayed up after lights out, shining flashlights at each others beds and talking until one fell asleep. He was always worried about saying the wrong thing or something stupid that would make her laugh at him.

Somehow, none of that ever happened. They moved from their beds to the middle of the floor, making a fort out of pillows and blankets, setting one of the flashlights in the middle of their makeshift tent for light as they continued their ritual of chatting until they couldn't stay awake anymore. It was during one of these conversations, also in their second year, that she told him everything about herself - what she could remember, at least. By the end, she was crying into his pajama top and he was hugging her, telling her that he was sorry and that it would all be okay.

Even the teachers had to learn how to put up with the fact that when you had Jessie, you were getting James and when you had James, you had better believe you were getting Jessie. There wasn't much use in trying to separate the two, even if one had to stay after class and the other didn't . Jessie was usually the one that needed extra help or was being reprimanded and that meant James sat outside the classroom on the floor and did his homework until she was free. Eventually they felt bad enough for him that they let him in with her and he studied while she spent most of the time scowling over getting caught. On the rare occasions that the tables were turned, Jessie would huff and puff and stomp her feet until they let her happily skip inside and take her seat next to James; but only on the condition that she leave him alone and not distract him.

It was during one of Jessie's own punishments - detention for getting into a fight with one of the seemingly endless parade of girls that she didn't get along with - that she pulled a new notebook out of her bag and tossed it across the aisle at him. He tried to catch it but failed miserably, cringing as it hit the floor with a "thud." When the teacher looked, he was picking it up and smiling nervously, waving it at her and shrugging as if to brush off his own clumsiness. When he opened it, he saw that Jessie had already written something inside - nothing very secretive or important, just a little note - and he looked over to her with a raised eyebrow, gesturing with his head to the notebook. She rolled her eyes and took her pen, holding her hand up like a piece of paper and pretending to write on it, then pointing to the notebook with the pen. James blinked, looking back and forth between them. Jessie sighed in annoyance and leaned over, grabbing the notebook back from him and scribbling in it, thrusting it back into his hands after she was done. James looked at what she had written: WE WRITE BACK AND FORTH, STUPID. He slapped his forehead in realization of what she had meant and wrote his own response in the notebook, stealthily tossing it back over to her.

This soon became a regular practice, even in class. They thought they were so smart and sneaky, fooling the teachers since it was a whole notebook and not simply a piece of paper they were tossing back and forth. For all the teachers knew, they could be chatting about the lesson and comparing notes. The teachers weren't as naïve as the duo thought but let them continue nonetheless. It wasn't hurting anyone and that was certainly something they wouldn't be able to say that if they crossed Jessie on the wrong day.

During their third year it had gotten out that Jessie was there because of the money from her mother's life insurance. The one and only person that she had told about her mother's death was James and now having the whole school either make fun of her or give her sympathetic eyes made her want to never leave their room.

It was at another one of their faux-campouts soon after where James told Jessie about his life, as well in an attempt to make her feel better. He kept the fact that he was rich and that the girl who constantly abused him was actually his fiancée to himself - people changed when they found out you had money and, while he didn't think Jessie was one of them, he couldn't take the chance. He didn't realize until he saw the look on Jessie's face, the light of the flashlight setting it aglow, that it really _was_ horrible and he wasn't just being a big baby.

When she quietly asked if she could see the scars left by the other girl and his parents, he blushed and lowered his head, once again hiding from the world in his hair. "It's gross. You don't want to see it."

Jessie shook her head and moved closer to him, taking his shaking hand in hers. "It's you. That's not gross."

His blush deepened and he was thankful that the limited light didn't make it any more obvious. Giving in, he put his back to her and started to tug up the back of his pajama top, Jessie taking over when he couldn't reach back far enough anymore. She lifted the flashlight and held it up to his back. They were both silent for a while - something that made James miserable, assuming that she was disgusted into silence. He jerked his head up, his eyes growing wide when suddenly she wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her head against his back.

"I wish we would've met sooner. I'll punch that girl right in the nose."

James laughed softly in relief, looking back over his shoulder at her. "I'd like to see that."

She lifted her head and rested her chin on his shoulder, a wide grin spreading across her lips. "Consider it done."

* * *

><p>It was later that year when Jessie all but floated into their room, spinning around before finally falling back next to him on his bed. He peered down at her and blinked, poking her in the side. "What's with you?"<p>

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling and wide with joy. "I'm in love!"

He wasn't sure why but for months after her declaration, he was grouchier than usual. He would catch her mooning over the guy at lunch or in class and suddenly a dark cloud formed above him and didn't go away for hours. It was jealousy, he definitely knew that much; but jealousy over what? Sure, Jessie was pretty and everything but at the same time...she was _Jessie_. She was a bundle of explosive sass, the person that made him comfortable and trust her enough to break from so many of the "proper" rules he had grown up with. When he said his first swear word ("ass") she was right there next to him to laugh and cheer.

Maybe he was scared more than jealous. If Jessie started to date, he would be left behind in the dust - the same way he was by his family when he first arrived. She was the first human best friend he'd ever had and he couldn't even _consider_ picturing his life without her; after all, they had decided long ago that once they were out of Pokemon Tech, they were going to go on their journey together. She wanted to be a coordinator - whatever that was, he wasn't quite sure - and had already asked him to be her manager. As she had put it, "what's the fun in being rich and famous if you don't have your best friend to share it with?" It would have put him at ease if it weren't for the fact that the object of her affection was also looking into becoming a coordinator. He would probably end up having to watch them make out all the time. Inwardly, he gagged.

With only a few months left before the end of their middle school careers, Jessie burst into their room in tears and fell face-first onto her bed, wailing. Immediately he ran over to her and asked what was wrong. He was truly surprised at what she had to say: her stupid boyfriend _Astin_ - a dumb name, to be sure - had asked her to come with him on his journey to become the best coordinator. He had gotten permission from his teachers and the school to leave early and see what the Pokemon world had waiting for him. James immediately thought that maybe she was so upset because she would have to leave him in order to go off with Astin. Well, he could dream, at least.

Instead she explained that she refused, citing the performance she and some other girls were going to put on for graduation and that it was part of her dream to become famous. Sniffling, she turned her head to look up at him, eyes puffy and red with tears still running down her blotchy cheeks. "And that's true but...how could I leave you?"

James blinked down at her, brushing some of her hair off of her wet cheek. "You didn't go because of me?"

"We have a deal, dummy. We go together or we don't go at all."

His heart soared higher than he'd ever seen any Pokemon fly; but was quickly squashed back to earth with the realization that he was the reason she was so upset. "We could always meet up with each other..."

She shook her head, closing her eyes as he stroked her cheek, the tears in short supply now. "He already left. And like I said, we're doing our journey _together_."

Wrapping his arms around her gently, he pulled her up and let her rest against him limply, her head against his chest. "I don't want you to miss out on your dream because of me..."

"Everybody in my life has left me. I was in that orphanage for a reason, you know. I didn't want to be the person that left someone they cared about."

James swallowed hard, looking down at her and tucking her tear-soaked hair behind her ear. "I don't want you to regret your decision, Jess..."

She looked up at him, a small smile on her face. "Never ever."

* * *

><p>He shifted awkwardly on his bed, keeping his eyes on the door as he fumbled around with the small black box in his hands. Maybe this was a terrible idea. Maybe he should wait until they had graduated and were out on their journey together - that way, if she freaked out about it, he would have endless places to run and hide. It was a stupid idea, anyway. What made him think that she would even <em>want<em> to remember him?

The upper school was different. There were more mature people to contend with there and cliques were a much bigger deal. He couldn't imagine Jessie _not_ becoming the most popular girl in school and winning all the crowns every dance had to offer. He knew he could never be her king but knowing that she was happy as queen made that fact sting a little less.

Just as he had decided his gesture of friendship was a huge mistake, she strolled in the room and blinked at him, pointing to the box. "What's that?"

He blinked as well, quickly hiding it behind his back. "...What's...what, Jess?" He laughed nervously.

She narrowed her eyes and went over to him, holding her hand out in front of his face. "Give it!"

James looked up at her pleadingly. "Jessie, _please_? Pretty please?"

Ignoring him, she tried to reach behind his back, the two joining in an awkward dance of desperation on both their parts. Jessie finally faked him out and grabbed the box triumphantly, sitting down next to him. "Ooh!" she said, inspecting it. "It's _jewelry_."

He ducked his head and turned away from her, mumbling to deaf ears, "Please don't open it..."

She lifted it to her ear and shook it, trying to get a clue as to what was inside. "Nothing." Jessie leaned over, poking him in the cheek playfully. "Do you have a _girlfriend_ I don't know about?" she teased.

His eyes widened and he jerked his head to look at her, shaking it fiercely. "No! I don't. I definitely don't."

Holding up the box, she asked, "Well then what's this for?"

He groaned, falling back onto the bed and putting a pillow over his face.

"You're being a baby!" Jessie proclaimed as she opened the box, a soft gasp escaping her lips, her eyes widening at what was inside. "James...these are beautiful."

"They're for you," he stated miserably against the pillow.

She turned to look at him, reaching over and grabbing the pillow and throwing it on the floor. "Why?" she asked softly.

James sighed heavily and sat up, shrugging slightly and keeping his gaze down toward his bedspread. "You never know what might happen. You might become the queen Beedrill and..." He shook his head, making his hair fall into his face and eyes again - his best and only defense. "We might not be friends anymore. So I thought maybe you could wear these earrings sometimes - if you wanted and all - and -"

"They're green just like your eyes," Jessie commented, looking down at the box and its contents with a new appreciation.

He nodded, swallowing hard. "So you would remember me...if you wanted to, I mean."

"Why would you ever think I would forget you in the first place?"

"I - I don't know. I wanted to do something nice, that's all. I wanted to thank you for being my friend and protecting me and making this whole experience bearable." James looked up at her through his hair, his eyes more piercing than she'd ever noticed before. "I don't think I would have survived this without you."

She scooted closer to him, smiling a little as she reached over and brushed his hair out of his face, looking into the eyes she suddenly found so sparkling and gorgeous. "I still don't know if I can accept this, though..."

He shook his head, pulling it away from her before standing up. "It's okay. I get it. It's...it's weird and I made things weird and I'm really, really -"

Jessie reached up, putting her hand over his mouth, frowning at him. "...Because it's too expensive."

James blinked and shook his head again, talking against her hand before she pulled it away. "- nothing, _really_. I promise."

She sighed softly, looking down at the box again and biting her lip. "_Promise_? Really, _really_ promise?" He nodded, biting his lip as well when she took the earrings out and put them on. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she turned her head from side to side for him to look at her new accessory. "What do you think?"

"You look beautiful." He blushed at how quickly it had come out, taking a step back from her and rubbing the back of his neck. "I - I mean..._they_ look beautiful. Like you said."

Jessie couldn't help but grin, standing herself now and taking his hand. "What'da say we bust outta here and grab some pizza before hitting the books?"

"It's past curfew, though..."

"Yeah, hence the 'busting out' part."

She went over to the door and looked around the corner, James joining her and checking to see if the coast was clear the other way. She grabbed his hand again and quickly pulled him along the corridor of rooms to the very end of the hall where a large window sat propped open.

James's eyes widened, her plan becoming clear, and he grabbed her free hand with his, tugging her toward him. "_Jessie_," he hissed, "we can't do this!"

"Sure we can, it's easy!" she hissed back, her strength winning out over his as it always did, dragging him along under quiet protest. She let go of him when they reached the window and looked down at the ground below. "It's not that far up. Second floor, we should be okay."

James shook his head and grabbed both her hands now, spinning her around to look at him. "Finals are tomorrow! If we get caught -"

"- We'll still have to do finals. What? They're going to punish us by _not_ making us take a test?" she said incredulously.

He checked out how long the drop would be as well and groaned. "I have delicate bones!"

She rolled her eyes and pulled her hands away from his, hopping up on the window pane. Looking back at him, she smirked a little. "If you're too scared, I'll go by myself." With that she tossed her hair over her shoulder and disappeared into the darkness.

James immediately ran to the window and looked down, searching for her and breathing a massive sigh of relief when he saw her crawling out of a bush. She looked up at him and waved him down, making him sigh again. "Don't guys usually get hugs and kisses when they give girls jewelry? What happened to that..." he mumbled to himself, sitting on the pane as well and then shoving off, landing in the same bush that she had.

She went over to him and knelt down next to him as he rolled out from the shrubbery, spitting a couple of small leaves from his mouth. Jessie laughed quietly and helped him up, placing her arm around his waist and pulling him close. "Not very graceful but it got the job done."

He made a face at her, finding himself mimicking her action and wrapping his arm around her waist as well. "The things I do for you -"

"- Are awesome," she finished for him, sliding her other arm around his waist and resting her head against his shoulder as they began to walk into town.

* * *

><p>James groaned, lifting his hand to rub at his eyes and trying to get his bearings. Opening one eye he found himself looking out over a small pond, the sky a bright combination of orange and purple as the sun readied itself to rise over the horizon and start the day. He yawned and began to stretch but quickly stopped, looking down and smiling at Jessie's sleeping form, her head resting against his stomach. He reached down and gently brushed some of her hair from her face, letting his fingers run the length of her magenta mane. Sighing contentedly, he looked up at the sky, watching as a flock of Pidgey flew above him, cooing directions to each other. He looked around and found pizza boxes and cans of soda strewn around them on the grass. It was about this time that he noticed the butt of his pants and back of his shirt were wet with morning dew.<p>

The night before flashed through his head in quick snapshots as though he were looking at it through microfilm. The two of them had snuck out and gotten pizza, deciding to find some place to eat and choosing a patch of grass next to the pond outside of town. After their meal, she had curled up next to him, her head on his chest, fingers twirling around in the fabric of the bottom of his shirt. It wasn't the first time they had wrapped their arms around each other like that but for some reason, last night felt drastically different. A shiver ran up his spine whenever her fingers brushed against his stomach; he could feel the heat coming from her body and mingling with his own, making the night air between them seem warmer than it actually was. They stayed up talking about nothing in particular, the way they always did; but when she looked up at him, the moonlight caught her eyes in such a way that he couldn't take his own off of them. Deep, sparkling pools of blue - no, _sapphire_, he'd decided on - gazing up at him in a way that he'd never seen before. What made everything so different? Her touch sent shock waves through his body and her eyes kept him so entranced, he couldn't imagine ever looking away from them again.

She made the decision for him, pulling away and readjusting herself to the way she laid now, sprawled out horizontally next to him, using his stomach for a pillow. The usual must have happened - they talked themselves to sleep. He didn't even remember who had given in first; maybe they did at the same time. It had been that kind of night, after all.

Hearing a murmur, James looked down and watched as Jessie buried her face in his shirt, waking with the same unenthusiastic groan that he had. "Morning," he said with a small, shy smile.

Jessie looked up from his shirt and blinked a few times before returning his smile and replying, "Morning." She looked around and sat up - much to James's disappointment - and ran a hand back through her hair. "Did we stay out here all night?"

He nodded, rolling over onto his side, more dew accumulating on his shirt. "I guess so."

She continued to look around, a frown forming on her features. "Wasn't there something we were supposed to do?"

James thought for a minute. Something _did_ seem to be missing...or forgotten about entirely. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was. "I don't remember at all."

Lingering on the mystery for only a second more, she shrugged and stood up, brushing stray pieces of grass off her damp outfit. "We'd better get back before wake-up call. We'll _both_ end up in detention if -"

Suddenly it hit him - _school_. _Finals_. _Graduation_. He jumped up, nearly slipping back down onto his rear again on the wet grass but managing to steady himself by grabbing onto her, eyes wide. "We didn't study! At all!"

Jessie's eyes widened as well and the two could do nothing but stare at each other, bodies immobilized in shock and fear. "We...we can still get some studying in, right?"

"Everything we learned in middle school?!"

She bit her lip and crouched down, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them. "This is all my fault. I'm so _stupid_! I should have listened to you."

He shook his head and joined her, putting his hand on her back. "It's not like you knew we would stay out all night."

Looking up at him sadly, she lifted her hand and placed it against his cheek. "You shouldn't get in trouble because I made you come out with me. I'll...I'll think of something and you'll be able to make it up and I'll spend the rest of my life in detention."

"That's not fair!" he cried, tilting his head to the side and into her touch. "Don't you remember? We go together or we don't go at all."

She found herself searching his eyes for any inkling of insincerity. Subconsciously, her other hand lifted to fiddle with one of her earrings. "We could get expelled," she said softly.

James nodded, smiling a little as she touched the gift he'd given her the night before. "But we'd be getting expelled _together_."

Throwing her arms around his neck the way she had the day they first met, she hugged him tightly, the force of it making him nearly fall over and back onto the wet grass. "You swear you won't regret it?"

Wrapping his arms around her as well, he held her close, burying his face in her hair and murmuring to her, "Never ever."


	10. Broken Chains

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>"Son of a <em>bitch<em>!" Giovanni's voice boomed as he slammed down the phone so hard it sent a crack through the plastic receiver. He placed both hands on his desk and hunched over, trying to catch his breath and cool the hot rage that was boiling inside of him.

"Problem?"

He slowly lifted his head, glaring at Miyamoto as she leaned against the doorway, her arms crossed. "How ever did you _guess_?" he spat.

Rolling her eyes, she stepped into his office and shut the door behind her. She made her way over to the desk and hopped up on the edge, crossing her legs. "What are you throwing a hissy-fit over now?"

He couldn't help the small laugh that came from his throat, sitting down in his chair and looking up at her. "How about I share with you what's so distressing to me and then we'll see who starts throwing a hissy-fit?"

Miyamoto shrugged and crossed her arms again, letting her feet dangle from her perch, the tips of her boots barely scuffing the carpet. "Shoot."

Giovanni snorted in amusement, resting his hands against the arms of his chair and leaning back. "That piece of shit Pokemon school we sent Jessie to has apparently _lost_ her."

She blinked at him and raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Really? How, exactly, does a school lose a fourteen-year-old girl?"

"When she flunks her final exam and, instead of choosing to stay and face the consequences, runs off to _who knows where_ with -" He laughed again, bitterly, pointing at her, "You'll enjoy this part. She ran off with _a boy_."

Miyamoto immediately grinned. "Atta girl!" Quickly she plastered a scowl on her face at Giovanni's glare. "I mean...slut? I don't know what you want me to say, here."

He stood and slammed his fists against the desk, startling Miyamoto and making her jump off before she was thrown off. "The whole fucking point was that we could keep tabs on her! That school _knew_ the situation - I explained it _explicitly_ before she went there! I donated thousands of dollars to keep them quiet! And now because of their _complete_ and _total_ _incompetence_ our daughter is gallivanting around with some...some..."

"Hooligan?" she offered with a smirk.

"I'm so glad you find this entertaining, Miyamoto. At least you'll have something to bond over when we find her and drag her back here, barefoot and pregnant, I'm sure."

"Oh, will you put a sock in it?" She moved toward him and pushed him back down into his chair, getting a dark look from him in response. "Isn't this what you wanted? You wanted her to have a better life than what Team Rocket could give her. She's more than old enough to go out on a journey on her own - and she's not even on her own because there's that _boy_ you're so fond of travelling with her."

"She has no Pokemon, Miyamoto! How the hell is she supposed to go on a journey?!"

"Pretty much the same way she just did. You can throw a damn Pokeball at a low-level Pokemon and capture it without weakening it, you know." She sighed, sliding down to sit on his lap, putting her arms around his neck. "You have to trust her. She's been in trouble enough for the both of us to realize that she's extremely tough and resilient." Miyamoto smiled slightly, glancing down at her lap, saying quietly, "I'm proud of her."

Ignoring both her words and her body completely, Giovanni glared forward at nothingness and growled, "That boy did it. I know he did. He's the reason she's gone."

Annoyed at his tunnel-vision, Miyamoto stood abruptly, walking with purpose toward the door and opening it, saying over her shoulder as she slammed it shut, "Then good for him! I like him already!"

* * *

><p>The cold metal of the chain-linked floor had been against her thighs for so long, they were almost numb to all feeling. Lucky thighs. She let her legs dangle, resting her head against the cool metal of the barricade that lined the edges of the second floor's shaky walkways. Her eyes narrowed as she watched from above, that bastard Chopper shamelessly flirting with the new girl, Tyra. They hadn't even been broken up an hour and already he was looking for the new "queen" to his "king." The only reason he was even leader of the gang was because of her.<p>

Everyone wanted _her_ to run for the job because, unlike Chopper, she _commanded_ respect. It should have been obvious to her that something was up when he suddenly wanted to go out with her just weeks before the voting. Being the ever-loyal girlfriend, she chose not to run against him. This resulted in his win not because they believed in him, but because they thought that she might be involved in some of the decision-making. It was the next best thing to getting her as leader. She knew that he knew this, of course; but as long as he had his power and control, he didn't give a shit how it had come to be that way.

If anyone had asked her point-blank how she came to be in the gang, she honestly wouldn't have been able to answer. Somehow, one day, she and James ended up near Sunnytown and were confronted by a group of thugs on bicycles. When they started to advance on them, she remembered how bored she had been with the whole schtick and then swung her arm, punching whoever happened to be closest in the nose. That just so happened to be the old leader, who was promptly dethroned after clutching his bloodied nose in horror, wailing at the pain and calling her a "mean girl."

It took some convincing to get them to let James into the gang but she took the stance that if they wanted her to join so badly, they took him as well. There was no Jessie without James and no one - least of all some punk cyclists - was going to tear them apart.

The gang took refuge from the elements in an abandoned warehouse outside the city. It still smelled of hot metal and something Jessie could only guess had to be mildew or something equally great for the lungs. The first floor was a huge room in and of itself - no walls separating it into different rooms, so that was used for meetings, partying (as the acoustics were ripe for blasting music at the highest decibel possible), simply hanging out, and more debaucherous things that Jessie chose to pretend didn't happen.

The second floor's walls were lined with large windows, the grime that had accumulated on them over time casting an eerie glow when the sun was shining. There were several rooms on the second floor that she assumed had to be where the big boss men yelled at all the people doing _actual _work to do that actual work harder - and then got paid about ten times more than they did.

Similar to Pokemon Tech, they divided into a boys side and a girls side. This was more for show than anything as the members swapped partners and spent the night in each others' rooms more often than James changed his underwear. As always, Jessie and James were the exception to the unwritten rule, bunking together and garnering James a little respect from his male peers. In any other situation, she would've choked them out with her bike chain; but, since it was positive for James (and the guy needed all the help he could get, rolling around on those training wheels), she let the whole assumption that they were hooking up slide. Worse assumptions had been made about her in her life, after all.

They had shared a deflated blow-up mattress until they came across some lawn furniture that had cushions that seemed comfortable enough. No matter how many times she laid down on the mattress, a sense of deja-vu came over her; but she couldn't recall why or from where. Maybe somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind she was almost remembering something. Then again, if it involved a disgusting, used mattress, maybe it was for the best that she _didn't_ remember it.

Her icy glare only growing colder by the second, she wished that she was a Dewgong and could aurora beam the living hell out of the both of them. And to think, Tyra had the nerve to gush to her about how much she looked up to her and oh, Jessie, can you teach me how to swing _my_ chain, too? Miserable bitch. As Chopper grabbed Tyra's ass - much to her delight - Jessie's eyes darted next to her at the bottle of peach schnapps she'd plucked from the festivities. About three-fourths was left and she figured if she shot it by itself, that would be more than enough to get her completely wasted beyond measure.

Picking up the bottle and opening it, she was mid-swig when the clanging of shoes made their way up the steps, followed by a gasp. She slowly moved her gaze to her right and saw James, horrified, rushing over to her and nearly falling off the second floor in his haste. She pulled the bottle from her lips with a "smack" and offered it to him. What was the fun in being drunk alone?

He sat down next to her, being careful not to lose his balance this time. "What are you _doing_?"

"Baking a cake," she retorted, taking another sip from the bottle and wrinkling her nose in response.

James frowned, reaching over and grabbing onto the bottle as well, trying to tug it away from her grasp without any success. "I don't get it. Why?"

Jessie rolled her eyes and gestured down to the first floor with her head, not bothering to even look and dignify the likely shameless display with her disgust. "We broke up. Now he's trying to screw Tyra. _I_, on the other hand, am now involved in a very exclusive relationship with this bottle." Another quick swig and another face, followed this time by a cough.

"No, you're not," he protested, yanking the bottle away from her lips and receiving an icy glare of his own in return. "It's...he's not..." James frowned, tightening his grip on the bottle. "He's a jerk. He's always been a jerk and you've always been way too good for him. Everybody knows it. Letting yourself get so upset over a guy like _him_..." He shook his head, glancing down at his lap. "It's not worth it."

She blinked at him, her grip on the bottle tightening as well. "You never said any of this before."

He shrugged, his eyes focused on staring through one of the tiny holes in the floor. "He was your boyfriend. I didn't think you'd want to hear what I had to say."

Furrowing her brow, she lifted her hand and flicked him against the forehead, causing him to jump and let go of the bottle. Where had she even learned that tactic? "Of course I _care_! You're my best friend!"

Rubbing his forehead, he looked up at her and tilted his head to the side. "Really?" She lifted her hand to flick him again but he quickly put up both of his hands, scooting away from her. "Okay! Okay! You care!"

She turned her nose up at him and took another sip, finding it going down much easier than before. "You're pretty much the only successful relationship I've ever had. You know me better than anybody else."

Without thinking, James grumbled, "Yeah, except Chopper..."

Jerking her head, she looked at him, a mix of rage and hurt in her ever-glassier eyes. "What did you just fucking say to me?"

He winced, leaning to the side and resting his head against the bannister as well. "I - I just mean...he..._knows_ you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Like _how_?" she persisted.

James groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. "_Jessie_, please don't make me say it!" he whined.

Staring at him briefly, she then stood - even more wobbly than usual on the scaffolding - grabbing the bannister for help. "Fuck you, James." Hand still tightly clasped around the neck of the bottle, she made her way to their room, slamming the door loudly behind her.

"Stupid...stupid, stupid, stupid," he mumbled as he got himself up, following in her footsteps and pausing outside the door to knock softly. "Jessie? Jessie, I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

To his surprise, the door swung open and she stood in front him, hair a mess and mascara running down her cheeks, making the invisible tears suddenly pop on her skin. "Go. Away."

He was taken aback by how quickly she had changed into this feral creature, a ball of emotions bouncing every which way but the right one. Stopping her from closing the door in his face, he pushed his way inside and used his leg to close it behind him. "I - I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry..."

She lifted a hand to her face and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, thoroughly annoyed that she had apparently not stolen water-proof makeup. "You didn't make me anything."

"Jessie..." He took a step toward her and she responded in kind, taking a step back from him. "I just...I thought that...well, you two spent the night together in his room sometimes..."

Turning on her heel and going over to the mattress, she sat cross-legged, slamming the bottle down next to her. "Well, nothing happened. Not for his lack of trying, though."

Cautiously he walked toward her and then sat on the other side of the mattress, pulling his knees up to his chest. "How come?" He wanted to take back the question as soon as it left his lips. What the hell was _wrong_ with him?

Surprisingly, she didn't try to attack him. Instead, she shrugged, running her finger around the rim of the bottle. "It didn't feel right. That kind of thing only happens once and I wasn't about to have it happen with _him_."

He couldn't help the grin that spread across his lips, moving closer to her and nodding. "Yeah, yeah. That's good."

Glancing over at him, she raised an eyebrow and scowled. "Why are you so happy about it?"

James blushed, ducking his head down and letting his hair fall over his face the way he always did when trying to practice avoidance. "I - I dunno. I'm not. I mean, I am if you are -"

She moved in front of him and grabbed his chin, making him look up at her through strands of long periwinkle hair. Her mouth was open, ready to yell at him for acting so childish all the time and trying to hide from the world behind his stupid hair - but no words came. She _knew_ what she wanted to say and even how to punctuate it with another forehead flick; but instead she found herself abruptly leaning in and pressing her lips to his.

His eyes widened first in fear and then in disbelief. He looked around the room, certain that someone had to be playing a prank on him. This wasn't really _happening_. It was all his imagination the way her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling his head closer to her to deepen the kiss. It had to be. He was imagining the taste of the peach schnapps when she parted his lips with her tongue, the soft moan he let out in response not audible to anyone that wasn't inside his own head.

It wasn't until he dared to slide his arms around her waist and pull her into his lap that any question of the reality of the moment was put to rest. She couldn't have been..._that_ drunk, right? From what he'd tasted, it was sweet and fruity and not bogged down by the disgusting flavor of alcohol. He wondered how much of what he was tasting was actually just her and not the booze. His mind wandered to what her skin might taste like, his lips unconsciously moving from hers to her jaw and down her neck. She was perfect beyond anything he could ever conjure up on his own; even his supposed "perfect woman" held no candle to Jessie.

Suddenly the _real_ reality of the moment set in, her moaning his name and clutching at him desperately sending him rocketing back to earth. He pulled away from her quickly, panting, running a hand back through his hair. He wished immediately that actual reality was like the unbelievable kind that make his heart shoot off fireworks when it came to pass. The look on her face tore his heart out and he sputtered, trying to explain, "We - we can't. You're - not...not like this."

She stood, not wanting him to see the tears welling up in her eyes and get the _insane_ impression that she actually gave a damn. Who liked being rejected? And now _she_ had been rejected by the likes of _him_? The fact that she wasn't flinging herself out the window was nothing short of a miracle. "I need to go for a walk," she said, brushing past him and cursing to herself that she let her voice crack the way it did. This wasn't her. This wasn't the way things were supposed to be.

His pleas fell on deaf ears as she stormed out of the warehouse, the party raging on as if her existence was nothing special to any one of them. It probably wasn't. No matter how far she ran, the bass from the stereo still pounded in her ears, mocking her and her stupid feelings for stupid James and her stupid life.

Slumping against a tree, she hadn't even noticed that she'd been crying as she ran. He destroyed her. How could she let that happen? How could he do that to her? He was her best and only friend. He was the one guy that gave her hope that maybe they weren't all such awful pricks. Now here she was, crying over him in a way that she never thought would ever happen. How was she supposed to go back and look at him again? The whole gang probably knew by now, too; how would she get through the teasing without James there by her side?

Wiping her eyes again, she stood up and sniffled, taking a deep breath. She had grown to depend on him too much and he on her. They were sixteen-years-old for fuck's sake - when were they going to grow up? "Now," she answered herself aloud, making her way to the back of the warehouse where their bikes were kept. Taking her bike key out of her shoe, she undid the chain and dropped it to the ground. She looked down at it, feeling silly for getting attached to an object. She wouldn't need it anymore, though - not _that_ chain, at any rate. Bending down, she picked it up gingerly then walked to James's bike, biting her lip to force back a small smile upon seeing his little training wheels. Another deep breath and she placed her chain on the seat, staring at it for a minute before quickly turning around and hopping on her own bike.

She had nowhere to go, no money, no family or friends; once again she was alone and this time, she was determined to make peace with it. She would never be so foolish to trust anyone the way she had James ever again.

Never ever.


	11. Redux

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Most of her life she'd been subjected to the idiocy that was the separation of boys and girls; and most of her life she'd always managed to get around it.<p>

That was not the case in Team Rocket. Something about "fairness" and "equality" that she was certain had to be a load of shit. She was likely tougher and stronger than most of the male recruits and she didn't need to be treated with kid gloves or like a precious, delicate flower. Her annoyance was duly noted by her instructor, no one seeming very impressed with her huffing and puffing the way they were at Pokemon Tech or in the bike gang. Team Rocket was an altogether different world where her smart mouth wasn't about to get her anywhere but scrubbing floors.

She decided to put all of her energy and emotions into training. When the day was over she would be too exhausted to be a bitch or would have worked out whatever she happened to be going through that day during class. There was only so much bitch she could take and her roommate had enough of it for the whole damn organization.

Becoming the stoic, brooding, and mysterious one in her class made her roommate thoroughly irked - for whatever reason that was. A day never went by where she wouldn't try to pick a fight with her by teasing her, purposely making her mess up on a mock-mission, or (her favorite as of late) setting their alarm to an inhuman hour...and sleeping through it because of those handy earplugs she'd put in the night before.

Normally whenever Jessie would encounter someone like this she would rip their hair out by their roots; but, as predicted, she was simply too tired to give a shit what Cassidy did and put that anger into being the in top of her class - something that also irked her blonde-haired roommate. No matter what she did to her, Jessie never fought back - not to _her_, anyway. The more Cassidy bullied her, the stronger Jessie got, blowing past her classmates in skill level quicker than any recruit in twenty-some odd years.

Eventually, Cassidy gave up trying so hard to make Jessie fail and focused more on her own training. Basking in someone's failure was all well and good, but if she had the chance to one-up her at something she was truly trying at...well, that would be enough to sustain her long into her Rocket career. It took her until the day before the two sexes were to be put in the same class to catch up with Jessie - an achievement that resulted in one never-ending smirk on her part and Jessie wanting to rip her lips off her smug face.

Once the two groups were combined, however, Jessie's own smugness came out. The boys were in awe and shocked that a _girl_ could keep up with them - and even beat them in some cases. She attributed her athletic ability to basically living like a wild Pokemon for the past few months, running and jumping and climbing as far away from her botched nursing school experiment as possible. When she was at her lowest the thought crossed her mind to simply just lay down and give up. Everything she'd ever wanted to do with her life got ruined somehow and it was starting to get old fast.

It was while she was walking her bike through Pewter City that she saw a flyer for Team Rocket, asking for new recruits. She had a debate with herself about whether or not to give it a try. She was already a thief, so that wasn't really much of a problem area; she met all of the requirements briefly listed on the flyer, "tenacity" being the one she felt most described her; and what the hell? It was a bed and a warm place to stay with three meals a day. That in and of itself was more than reason enough to join.

There was always something oddly familiar about headquarters and she couldn't figure out why. It was possible that before she ended up at the orphanage she lived in Viridian City with her family and the towering monstrosity that was Team Rocket HQ was forever burned into her memory. The idea that at some point in her life she had been happy and loved was so out of the realm of possibility for her that she decided it was more likely that she was already an orphan, wandering the streets, and saw the building that way. It made much more sense given how things seemed to be working out for her.

Something else was familiar, too - some_one_ else, actually. He seemed both shocked and confused when the two groups came together, staring at her for most of their first day. It was intensely creepy and the urge to punch him in the stomach was one she had to hold in more than once. Cassidy noticed how enamored the guy seemed to be with Jessie and began shamelessly flirting with him. Jessie didn't even know the guy, why in the world would she care if Cassidy hooked up with him? If it meant she would be out of their dorm room more often then more power to the wretched little slut.

It wasn't until the end of their third day together that the guy finally came up to her after class. He was cute, she supposed. His hair reminded her of James's, the way it was styled. Instead of periwinkle it was a dark turquoise...something else that seemed all-too-familiar to her.

He stopped her outside the classroom and when she turned, commenced staring at her again. She rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall. "Are you stalking me or something?"

The guy blinked a few times and shook his head, running his hand back through his hair. "You look like someone I used to know. That's all."

She had to stop herself from making a face at the sound of his voice even though it didn't seem that new or out of place to her. It was like she'd heard it before in some foggy dream that never seemed to give her a clear picture of anything, muffling and distorting noises to the point of incomprehension. "Well, lucky her, then." She began to turn to leave but he grabbed her elbow, tugging at it for her to come back. Jessie sighed, rolling her eyes again. "_What_."

"Your name..." he started cautiously, "it's - it's Jessie, right?"

"So what if it is?"

The guy swallowed hard, looking down at the floor. "And...you don't remember me?"

It was her turn to blink in confusion now. "Am I supposed to?"

He sighed and shook his head again. "No. No, not really. Maybe. I guess I thought I made a bigger impression than I did." He looked up at her and smiled slightly. "I'm really glad you're okay, though. I've thought about you a lot ever since my dad took you away."

Jessie stared at him, blinking slowly and looking past him down the long hallway, trying to process what he was saying. He had to have mistaken her for someone else. That was the only explanation. "I don't think I'm who you think I am..."

He shook his head and stepped closer to her, reaching out a hand to take hers but dropping it quickly, losing his nerve. "You are. I'd remember that hair anywhere. And that glare and that scowl..." Laughing slightly, he shrugged. "I got those two a lot."

She swallowed hard and took a step back from him, clutching her Rocket notebook to her chest. "Stop saying things like that!"

"I - I don't know how to make you believe me..."

"Look, it's not that I don't believe you. It's just...you're confused. That's all."

Catching her eyes with his own, trying to hold hers to his, he said softly, "I'm not. You're Jessie." He took another step toward her, closing the gap between them. "Your mom went on a mission and she didn't come back. Before anybody found that out, you stayed with me and my family while your mom was gone." He furrowed his brow, tilting his head to the side questioningly. "Don't you remember?"

She placed her hand against the wall to steady herself, her head suddenly spinning. James was the only one she'd ever mentioned her mother to. Who the fuck was _this_ guy? How did he know anything about her? Putting her back against the wall, she slid down to the floor, dropping her notebook next to her and staring forward at the dark wall across from her. "No," she finally said quietly.

He sat down next to her, brow furrowed even more in concern. "Really? You don't remember anything? Butch? Or...Team Rocket?"

Jessie shook her head slowly, eyes not moving from their spot on the wall. "Did I know Team Rocket before this?" she asked, her voice monotone, brain working overtime trying to pull some kind of flash from her memory.

"Yeah. Honestly, I thought that was why you were here."

She nodded slightly, pulling her legs to her chest and hugging them there. "And you're Butch?"

He nodded as well, smiling a little. "That's me."

They sat in silence for a while, Butch next to her, watching her intently while Jessie remained frozen, barely even breathing. She could already feel the lump forming in her throat and tried to swallow it back down, finally looking away from the wall and resting her forehead against her knees. "You knew my mother?" She didn't even recognize the sound of her own voice, so tiny and meek.

"Sort of..." He looked down, hair falling in his eyes the way James's always did. It annoyed her so much that he did that...until the day he gave her those earrings. Suddenly it became one of the most attractive things about him - an attraction that seemed to start that day, as well. "My dad was an agent for Team Rocket. We lived out back in these small houses that the boss - my dad's boss, not our boss - set up for families. It was dinky but we were together, you know?" Jessie nodded and he continued, "I'd lived there ever since I could remember. None of the kids hung out or played together outside of school because...I guess we were just lucky enough that the boss even let us live there. Making a bunch of noise all the time would've really pissed her off."

"Her?"

"Yeah, sure. Our boss now, she was his mother. She left the whole place to him." He shrugged. "He ended up kicking us out when my dad went missing, since he was the one that worked here and all."

Jessie scooted a little closer to him. "He went missing, too?"

Butch snorted, finally running a hand through his hair and getting it out of his eyes. "_Tons_ of people went missing."

"And...nobody thought that was weird?"

"Of course they did. No one was about to stand up to the boss, though. Anyway, the first time I saw you was the first day of school. We had to be five or something." He laughed slightly, turning his head from her. "I was a huge asshole to you. I didn't even know why. I pulled your pigtails and tried to look up your skirt and made fun of you..." He shook his head, shaking his hair out so that it fell in front of his face again, covering the growing color in his cheeks. "Your mom and my mom thought it was pretty hilarious, I guess. Your mom said that she tried to explain that boys at that age are really stupid and express things in weird ways. You know, that all the shit I pulled was only so you'd notice me and -" He suddenly stopped, the heat in his cheeks becoming more intense.

"And what?" she urged him on.

"...And then you came to stay with us," he said quickly. "And then my dad took you away under the boss's orders - still his boss, not ours - and I never saw you again." He glanced back over his shoulder at her. "Until now, that is." Gaze returning to the floor, he added, "I beat myself up for years over that. Like maybe I could've done something to help you. I can still hear you screaming and how it faded away when they took you out to the car. It was still loud and all but muffled." Shrugging again, he continued, "Dad never came back after that. I don't think I would've wanted to see him again, anyway. Not after what he did."

"Don't say that," Jessie said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Do you have any idea what I would give to see my mother again?"

"That's different -"

"No, it's not. I - I don't know what my mother did here and I don't really _want_ to know. Just finding out that she was here is more than enough for one day; but no matter what she did, she loved me. That I've always known. She loved me and took care of me..." she trailed off, ducking her own head as well, squeezing her eyes shut and letting a few of the built-up tears fall.

Butch looked over at her, biting his lip as he slowly slid his arm around her shoulders. "She did. I promise she did." He reached up and brushed a tear away with his thumb. "She was...she was the best agent Team Rocket ever had. Then and ever since."

Jessie looked up at him, not caring about the tears any longer. "She...she was?" When he nodded at her in reassurance, she wiped the tears away from her cheeks herself, her voice quiet once again when she asked, "And my father?"

"That's still a mystery, I guess."

"So...so what, she was some huge slut or something? The Team Rocket bicycle - everybody got a ride?"

"What? No! I mean -" He took a deep breath, taking her hand in his, trying to quell her shaking with a squeeze. "I don't know. I don't think so, though. I've only ever heard great things about her."

She darted her eyes down to their hands, fear and panic suddenly rushing through her body. What was she _doing_? Hadn't she promised herself that she would never trust anyone again?; and then here she was, buying into this guy's story without a second thought.

She just wanted to believe in something and someone again so badly...How foolish of her - that was how she got into trouble with James in the first place, wanting to believe that maybe not every person in the world was a piece of shit with ulterior motives for everything they did. James had been the sweetest, most genuine, innocent person she'd ever met; then she corrupted him, destroying all the good only to leave the bad and bring him down with her. He could've been anything but instead, she wrecked his life and then abandoned him because of her own ego and embarrassment. She tried not to think of him often but when she did, it was for hours at a time and resulted in nothing but her own regret and misery.

Jerking her hand away, she scrambled to stand. "I have to go. I need to go." She grabbed for her notebook but he stopped her, making her shut her eyes again and purse her lips together. "What are you doing?"

"I - I don't think you should be alone right now..."

"I won't be. I'll have Cassidy."

Butch made a face that Jessie couldn't help but laugh at, something that made him laugh as well. "Sorry, I know you're friends and all -"

"Not even close."

"Well, you know her, at least." He paused, reaching down himself and picking up her notebook, handing it to her with a nod of thanks in return. "Do you know why she keeps hitting on me?"

She hugged the notebook to her chest again and shrugged. "Jealous."

"Jealous? Of what?"

"You staring at me all the time."

He blushed again, laughing nervously, running his hand through his hair. "It was only because I knew -"

Jessie stopped him, a small smile forming on her lips. "I get it."

They stood in the hallway awkwardly, Butch looking around at nothing in particular and Jessie staring at her feet. Slowly moving his eyes to look at her again, he stuck his hands in his back pockets. "I know a place that might make you feel a little better."

She looked up, raising an eyebrow slightly. "It's not your room, is it?"

Eyes widening, he shook his head, taking a step back. "What?! No! Of course not!"

Shrugging again, she replied, "Had to make sure." Well, what was the harm in hanging out with the guy as long as she kept her defenses up? No bonding over any damn thing. She didn't remember him or their time together anyway. Glancing away, she took a deep but shaky breath. "I should go and freshen up first."

He nodded, face flushing again in amazement that she was actually accepting his offer. "We can meet back here if you want."

Jessie took a pen from the spiral binding of her notebook and pulled the cap off with her teeth. She took his hand and wrote a number down on it, returning the pen to its proper place. "That's my room number. Give me ten minutes, okay?"

"You mean...you want me to come to your room?"

She smirked a little, turning to leave. "It'll drive Cassidy nuts."

A smile spread across his lips as he watched her walk away, saying to himself, "That's just an added bonus."

* * *

><p>"You're kidding me, right?" Cassidy asked with a scowl, sitting on her bed with her arms crossed.<p>

"Why would I be kidding?" Jessie retorted, running a brush through her hair.

"This is so obviously just a way to get under my skin."

She rolled her eyes and turned around, putting a hand on her hip. "Believe it or not, Cassidy, my life does not revolve around you and thinking up ways to aggravate you." Jessie turned back around to face the mirror, continuing to brush her hair. "I leave that pathetic hobby to you."

Cassidy snorted, turning her head from her. "Please. You think I have to try very hard to annoy you? It's so easy it's almost boring."

There was a knock at their door, the two girls jerking their heads to look and then darting their eyes to look at each other. Eyes narrowing, they both made a run for it, Cassidy barely beating Jessie and opening the door, smiling sweetly.

Butch blinked at her and leaned over, looking past her into the room and at Jessie, waving. "Hey, you ready?"

Leaning against the door, Cassidy inspected her fingernails. "You know she's extremely frigid," she said in a blasé tone.

Jessie glared at her as she walked out the room. "And you're a bitch." She reached forward, pulling the doorknob and forcing Cassidy back into the room, slamming the door shut. She sighed, still glaring through the door at the girl behind it. "She's such a fucking nightmare."

"She seems like a real delight," Butch replied sarcastically before holding out his arm for her. "Ready?"

She balked at the offering, biting the inside of her lip. Maybe this was a terrible idea. Maybe the guy put more thought into this than she had intended. Maybe she should have just blown him off and ignored him for the rest of their lives; though, with her luck, they would end up as partners and ruin _that_ grand plan. Smiling slightly, she cautiously slipped her hand around his arm. "As I'll ever be, I suppose."

* * *

><p>Jessie had to blink a few times to adjust to the sudden low lighting, only able to make out her surroundings when a bright neon light from the dance floor passed across the room. She let go of Butch's arm and stepped forward, eyes scanning for anyone or anything of interest. In a corner booth sat a group of high-ranking agents, snorting some unknown substance from the table and laughing as they did. Most everyone else was either drunk, on their way to being drunk, or smoking both cigarettes and something else that made her feel slightly woozy.<p>

Butch joined her, having to talk loudly over the blaring music, "What do you think?"

"What _is_ this place?"

"The boss built it years ago when his mom was still in charge. It's just a place for us to hang out." He guided her over to a booth in one of the better lit areas of the makeshift club, sliding in on one side as she did the same on the other. "A lot of the veterans here knew my dad and remembered me, so they let me in. Usually it's just for ranking agents."

"Wait," she said, frowning, "so the boss knows about this place and..." Jessie glanced over at the group of druggies, wrinkling her nose at the sight of one of the girls using a napkin to blot her suddenly bloody nose. "...the stuff that goes on down here?"

Butch laughed a little and shrugged, seemingly unfazed by the display. "I'm pretty sure he actually _started_ the stuff that goes on down here." He began to slide out from the booth again, asking her, "What do you want? They don't card or anything. That'd be pretty stupid, right?"

"Right," Jessie replied, tearing her eyes away from the poor girl who was now pinching her nose and downing a shot. Was she really so much of a loser that she was the only one bothered by any of this? Drinking, sure; but this was heavy, extremely illegal stuff. How did Team Rocket even function when its agents were wrecked out of their minds? "Anything except peach schnapps."

He raised an eyebrow as he stood, eying her curiously. "Yeah, all right..." Staying for a second longer, he turned and went to the bar, leaving her alone and feeling extremely out of place.

Why was this so weird? It's not like she was a sheltered little baby who didn't know how the world worked and about all of the horrible things in it. Hell, this was a _criminal organization_ she was part of now. It would probably be weirder if they _weren't_ getting high in the basement.

The smell of the smoke reminded her of the bike gang, two of the boys having had an affinity for smoking some kind of leaf from some Pokemon that she couldn't remember. She avoided interacting with them as much as she possibly could, of course, so it was likely she never knew in the first place. Most of the group didn't know what the hell they were talking about half the time anyway. She smiled a little to herself, looking down at the shiny table top in front of her. Whenever there was an abundance of smoke in the warehouse, James would break into sneezing fits. He hated it and whined and whined the more he sneezed but wouldn't let her go and tell them to knock it off inside and go burn down the forest if they wanted to smoke. He didn't want to ruin anyone else's good time. That was James for you.

"Hey, are you okay?" Butch asked as he got back in the booth, placing something big, red, and fruity in front of her.

She looked up at him and smiled, nodding slightly. "Yeah, sure. Fine. Thanks."

He nodded as well and took a sip from his bottle of beer, starting to fiddle with the label and peel it off. "So, um...what have you been doing all this time?"

Jessie used her straw to stir her drink around, shrugging. "Orphanage. Flunked out of school. Joined a bike gang."

"Wow," he said, leaning back against the cushioned booth. "I just lived with my mom in Cerulean City. This is the first time I've been away from home...ever."

"Really?" The thought of staying in one place for any real length of time made her twitch. She'd never stayed anywhere longer than five years. The idea of having some place to call home and go back to at the end of every day now seemed suffocating. Staying in one place too long meant you developed attachments to people and things. Now she knew better than to make herself at home or get comfortable anywhere. It only made it harder when everything inevitably came crashing down. "I can't imagine that," she said after a long pause between them.

He smiled a little and shrugged, taking another sip of beer. "It's overrated. Despite everything, I feel more at home here than I ever did in Cerulean."

She made a face at him, eating one of the cherries that had come with her drink. "What? Wasn't this place awful to your family, though?"

"I guess. I was just used to the whole Rocket lifestyle. Even though I was little, sometimes my dad would tell me about his missions or the new rare Pokemon they'd acquired. It's what I grew up with. Cerulean was too...wet and blue for me."

Jessie raised an eyebrow, smirking at him. "Wet and blue?"

He shrugged again, making more progress with the beer's label. "Water Pokemon gym. Water everything, really." Pausing for a moment, he added, "I fucking hate water."

She couldn't help but laugh, taking a sip of her own drink. "So I guess in a way, joining Team Rocket was like coming home."

Butch nodded, smiling at her. "I never thought of it that way but you're right."

"The only place I'd ever consider calling home is somewhere I can never go back to," she said, surprised and angry at herself for starting to open up - and about _James_ no less. She wondered how much booze was in her drink. Her and booze didn't seem to mix well. "Because it burned down," Jessie added quickly, turning her head from him and looking out past the dance floor to the tables and booths on the other side of the room. She blinked once and then squinted her eyes at one of the tables. She couldn't make out who it was, the black figure concealed in its eerily dark corner; and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that they were looking at her - watching her. She shuddered and turned back to Butch. "This might sound a little crazy but...I'm pretty sure there's someone in that booth across there that's watching us."

He frowned and leaned forward, peering around her and scanning the same darkened area past the dance floor that had made her so uncomfortable. "I don't really see anyone."

"Well, _no_. They were completely blacked out, all I saw was this...figure. It was so creepy."

"I don't see anything like that. Look for yourself." He gestured with his hand and she followed it with her gaze, immediately frowning at the lack of her would-be stalker.

"But...they were there. They were _just_ there!"

Butch took another swig of beer and reached over, pulling her drink closer to himself. "Maybe they over-poured a little."

"I'm not _drunk_!" she growled, narrowing her eyes at him. "I've been drunk and believe me, this is _not_ drunk Jessie. You got it?"

Taken aback, he nodded, sliding her drink back over to her. "Sorry."

Jessie sighed, looking down at her lap. "No, I'm sorry. I just..." She swallowed hard and got up from the booth quickly, one hand moving to her ear to play with the emerald-colored earrings she hadn't taken out since the night they were put in. "It's been a weird day. I should go."

Butch glanced down, tugging harder at the label on his bottle of beer. "I understand. No problem. I can walk you back -"

She shook her head, forcing a small smile. "No, no. It's fine. I can make it myself."

He nodded, sighing as she turned and headed for the door, giving him a small wave before leaving. Slumping down in the booth, he looked over at her drink and grabbed it, chugging the rest of it down. At least he could be comforted by the fact that Jessie still wanted nothing to do with him.

* * *

><p>Cassidy narrowed her eyes, white hot rage building up inside of her. The pencil she held was snapped in two, the loud "crack" getting the attention of the two people who were currently making her wish that Team Rocket issued guns to recruits.<p>

"What's your deal?" Jessie asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

"_You two_ are my _deal_," she spat in reply, throwing her broken pencil to the floor. "Butch has a room, too, you know."

"My roommate's a slob. The smell alone..."

"Do I look like I fucking care?"

Jessie rolled her eyes as Butch rolled off of her and onto the other side of the bed. "Then what do you suggest we do, Cassidy?"

"I _suggest_ you close your legs," she replied, rolling over onto her side as well, putting her back to them. "Every damn night with you two. How am I supposed to sleep?"

"You could use those earplugs," Jessie replied coldly.

"And how does that help when I wake up in the morning and Captain Croagunk over there has his ass hanging out from the sheets?"

Butch glared at her, sitting up. "Why are you such a raging cun-"

Jessie slapped her hand over his mouth and shook her head. "Ignore her. It's bad enough we have to share our precious oxygen with her."

"Oh, eat a dick, Jessie," Cassidy grumbled, pulling the covers up over her head.

Jessie and Butch exchanged glances and burst out laughing, both falling back onto the bed. As Butch tried to catch his breath, Jessie called to Cassidy in a sing-song tone, "If you insist!"

The two kept their eyes on the infuriated girl across the room, poised to resume their make out session at any moment given the opportunity to throw her into a jealous rage. When they were both satisfied that she was actually done with them for the night, they curled up under the covers themselves, Jessie staring up at the ceiling and Butch on his side, looking at her.

It wasn't clear to anyone - least of all Jessie and Butch - how their relationship began. It seemed as though one second they were training together and the next they were having sex in the locker room shower. Nothing had been said on either one of their parts about dating or love; the words "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" were never used. In fact, there were times when Butch wondered if she only messed around with him because Cassidy had been so awful to her when she first joined. Why it bothered Cassidy, he had no idea. She seemed to hate him with a fiery passion, what did she care?

As much as he wanted to believe that he'd broken down the walls that Jessie had put up in the years since he'd seen her last, there was a nagging in the back of his mind that he couldn't shake. Sometimes she seemed to check out completely; and even the times when she was the most grounded and aware of him and what was happening it was like she was holding something back. He never really got all of her on any given day and he couldn't understand why. Then again, she hadn't been very forthcoming when he first approached her, either. What had he been expecting?

"Are you excited to find out who our partners are tomorrow?" he asked.

Jessie shrugged, still looking up at the ceiling. "I'm not really looking forward to having to carry someone else along for the rest of training."

"What makes you think you'd have to do that? Maybe they'll be just as good as you."

She rolled her eyes, turning her head to the side and looking at him. "Don't you know that our group is the laughingstock of all the recruits? Hell, probably the whole damn place."

He frowned, propping his head up on his hand. "What? Why?"

"Gee, maybe because the only ones worth a damn are you, me -" She paused, glancing over her shoulder to the bed across from her and lowering her voice, "and Cassidy."

"I heard that," she called in the same sugary sweet, sing-song tone that Jessie had used on her before.

"Go play in traffic," Jessie replied, looking back to Butch. "There are two other groups of recruits and they're both better than we are." Turning over, she put her back to him and yawned, wrapping her arms around her pillow. "No one from our group is even close to becoming an agent. Not even us."

Butch frowned more, laying his head down on his pillow and looking up at the ceiling now. When she had first joined, Jessie was so determined and never gave up; now it seemed as if the grueling workouts, training missions, and studying had taken her down several levels to the point of almost apathy - yet she remained steadily ahead of everyone else in their class. It made him realize that if she could be so good when she wasn't trying, that she was meant for this. Team Rocket wasn't just his home, it was hers, too.

If only he could get her to believe it.

* * *

><p>Giovanni had watched as Viper flipped through the files on each of the teams for both the blue and red sides. The name "Jessie" had given him a momentary pang of pain in his chest but he brushed it off. The odds that his Jessie was one in the same were astronomically high. Nonetheless, he asked Viper to leave the files with him and he would review them whenever he had the chance - which was much more likely now since that name piqued his interest.<p>

He sat now by a very hungry, very talkative Meowth, nodding along as he talked about...something. As the Meowth ate, he'd let his silly hopes and curiosity get the better of him and merely opened the file to the first page. His mind was very much gone at that point, the wheels turning and trying to process what was happening - and how the hell he would ever tell Miyamoto.

Glancing to the file on his desk, he couldn't help but smirk slightly - of course his daughter would be the only one to pass for her team; of course she would be in the top of her class; and, unfortunately, of course she would have trouble working and playing well with others.

As interesting as a talking Meowth was, it wasn't nearly enough to keep him from wondering where she was in the building right now and what she was doing; how she had come to be there once again and under what circumstances; where had she gone after Pokemon Tech? The questions swirled around his mind and accumulated. He had to stop himself. If he didn't, he would likely call her into his office right then with no actual reason other than to look at her and make sure that what he was seeing was true. She was right there, under their noses.

The paternal tug on his heart gave way to something darker. They had wanted something better than Team Rocket for her and here she was, back where she had started again. Miyamoto would surely want to tell her everything - he couldn't let that happen. She was a star in the making, possibly the next Miyamoto; how could he take that away from her and likely bring her whole life to its knees? This made her happy - at least, he assumed so based on the dedication she put in and the results - wasn't that what they wanted all along? For her to be happy?

* * *

><p>Standing on the roof of headquarters, her fight or flight instincts were kicking in. It seemed so unfair that when she was terrible at something or messed something up, she had to get away; but when she was good at something, she was <em>too good<em> and still had to get away before she embarrassed herself any further. Who the fuck went through ten partners? Her mother probably didn't.

Glancing down at the street, she gripped the railing tighter, shutting her eyes. A flash of her jumping came to mind followed by the oddly graphic image of the aftermath. She opened her eyes and sighed heavily, looking out over the city and toward the setting sun, dousing Viridian in an orange-purple glow. She probably wouldn't be able to kill herself properly, anyway - and she wasn't about to risk messing up her face for something that might not even work. She wasn't _that_ depressed.

When Viper came through the door and up behind her, she was slightly startled. Maybe she wouldn't have to worry about whether to run away or not because she was about to be kicked out right on her ass for being such a pain to work with. She was even more startled when he told her that she had a new partner. Well, son of a fucking bitch. That just figured. The day kept getting better and better. _Fantastic_.

Viper pointed to the wall next to the door and she saw an oddly familiar silhouette but didn't think much of it, focusing on how annoyed she was at all the fucking drama this guy had put into this. Just show your stupid face already, you -

"Allow me to introduce you to...James."


	12. Lost and Found

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Jessie spent the better part of the evening in the bathroom throwing up what she figured had to be everything she had eaten in the last year and then some. She wanted nothing more than to puke until she had nothing left and wasted away right there on the floor of the co-ed bathroom.<p>

In between hugging the toilet, she sat next to it, feeling numb and yet somehow still crying. Even Cassidy showed an uncharacteristic amount of concern, going so far as to drag Butch in there, telling him to "fix her." In actuality, he was probably the last person she wanted to see - well, _second_ to last.

He sat next to her and put his arm around her, letting her cry on his shoulder and holding back her hair whenever it was needed. She worried him so much ever since they had been assigned partners and he got Cassidy, of all people. Soon after, Jessie began to go through her own partners in record time - some even leaving of their own accord because she was too hard to work with. He'd asked Viper if he could be her partner and give Cassidy to someone else but, unfortunately, the whole place seemed to know about him and Jessie and, apparently, that kind of thing was very, very frowned upon by the boss.

"I knew my body was telling me to run for a reason," she said, wiping the tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand. "It's like somehow I knew...somehow I knew something awful was going to happen." She swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut and forcing what tears she was able to produce down her face. "I just never thought...I never thought it would be _this_."

Butch kept his arm around her, brow furrowed in concern and confusion, desperately wanting to ask her what was so upsetting but thinking better of it.

Jessie put her head in her hands, covering her face, and cried, though nothing came out. Butch saw no tears and yet her body was shaking as she nearly choked on her own sobs. "It's so _awful_!" she wailed into her hands. "How could he ever even agree to this? He must hate me so much. He must be doing this for revenge." She sniffled, lifting her head and resting her chin on her knees. "Not that I could blame him. I deserve it. I deserve to be miserable."

He swallowed hard, brushing some of her hair back over her shoulder. "...He who?"

She looked over at him, her lip quivering and stomach churning at the thought of having to say his name. "James," she squeaked out before turning her attention back to the toilet, her stomach as empty as her eyes, only able to dry-heave.

Outside the bathroom door, Cassidy stood eavesdropping and smirking at the intel she'd just managed to receive. "What, oh, what did you do to your new partner, _Jess_? How I wonder..."

* * *

><p>James stood outside the back of headquarters, hands tucked under his arms as he hugged himself for warmth. Nothing good was going to come from this; then again, how much worse could his day possibly get? He sighed and leaned against the building, his eyes scanning the broken down little cabins that dotted the path to the factory. As cramped and uncomfortable as it could be, he would gladly stay inside with a roommate as opposed to out here in the dark cold.<p>

Footsteps could be heard hitting the pavement behind him, stopping around the corner from where he was. He heard a lighter flick on and saw the meager light it produced. He stood silent, just in case it wasn't who he thought it was - the last thing he needed was to get in trouble for wandering around outside at all hours of the night. It's not like he was able to sleep, anyway.

A wave of smoke billowed from where the stranger stood, dispersing the higher it climbed. "So," came a girl's voice, "you actually came."

James shrugged, darting a glance over his shoulder but only finding light pink lips lit up in the night by the end of her cigarette. "Can't sleep anyway. Might as well."

She smirked, tapping the ash from her cigarette off against the side of the building. "I don't think you quite understand just how things work here in Team Rocket."

He raised an eyebrow, looking ahead at the factory and various blinking lights that went on and off over and over again inside. "Really? And you do?"

"More than you."

"Is that why you asked me to come here? To try and intimidate me?" He spun around the corner, getting a look at her. "It's not going to work."

Cassidy threw her cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out before looking up at him. "We can help each other out."

James raised an eyebrow again and leaned against the side of the building. "I doubt it, but go on."

"Your," she said, poking him in the chest, "partner and my partner have a thing going on."

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, shrugging and trying to feign interest. "So?"

"_So_...I don't know about you, but I want to be a field agent. I haven't worked this hard for this long to get screwed over because Jessie keeps _getting_ screwed."

James lowered his head, wrapping his arms tighter around himself as a breeze blew past. "They're...uh..."

"They're boinking," Cassidy interrupted sharply. "They're boinking all the time like little Buneary. It's disgusting."

He kept his head down and tried to tell himself that he didn't care repeatedly in his mind. "Well, great. Thanks for the heads up."

Cassidy huffed in annoyance, putting her hands on her hips. "Let me spell it out for you: I don't want my partner distracted by your partner. It puts us _both_ at risk of failing and I'm not about to fail."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

Smirking, Cassidy poked him in the chest again. "I'm so glad you asked that. See, Birch is a total dweeb. I could get into his pants like _that_," she said, snapping her fingers. "All I need from you is to...I don't know. Keep Jessie-Jess busy." Her smirk grew as she leaned forward, trying to look past all of his hair and meet his eyes. "How you do it is totally up to you, if you catch my drift."

James looked up at her through his hair, eyes narrowed. "What is _wrong_ with you? Why would you do that?"

"Hey, this is what I meant when I said I know how things work around here and you don't." She snorted, turning and putting her back against the building. "We might be placed with partners but in the end, the only person you have to rely on is yourself. All of this...team building is load of shit."

"So you would wreck somebody else's life just to ensure that yours went exactly as planned?"

Cassidy shrugged. "If you're so damn against that idea, I have another that would probably work."

"I don't care," he said as he brushed past her, stopping with a groan of dread when she grabbed his wrist. "Just leave me alone."

She shook her head, still holding onto his wrist, and made her way in front of him. Tilting her head to the side and replacing her smirk with a small, seductive smile, she ran her hands up his chest and then linked them behind his neck. "It's not hurting anybody if we mess around with each other, right?"

He swallowed hard and tried to back up, only dragging her along with him. He shivered as her fingers danced on the back of his neck, playfully running through his hair. "I'm not doing this."

Leaning in, her lips barely brushing against his, she said, "So forget about them. Let's just do it for funsies."

James shut his eyes, trying to pull his head back from her but only being met with resistance from the hands clasped together behind it. "I don't want to."

She smirked against his lips, pressing hers against them as a hand slid up the back of his head to grip his hair tightly. Forced to stay in place by her hand pushing him forward against her and her lips pressing him back, the only thing he could think to do was absolutely nothing and wait until she got the message and stopped.

Cassidy wasn't one to give up very easily - especially where messing with Jessie was concerned. Keeping a hand on his head, her other slowly ran down his chest, stopping at the waist of his pants. He squirmed at her touch, wanting nothing more than to get out of there as quickly as possible. His eyes shot open when she started to undo his belt and, jerking his head to the side instead of back, he pulled away from her kiss. "Get off of me. I don't want to have to make you," he said, his eyes as dark and as cold as the night, "but I will."

She narrowed her eyes, shoving him back using her hand on his waist. "It's her, isn't it?" Laughing slightly, she put her back to him and looked up at the sky as though an answer would fall right into her lap. "What is it with her and men? Why do they all fall to their knees in front of sweet Princess Jessie?"

James hung his head again, his voice soft with a sad tone to it, "I think it's because they see that she needs it...the self-esteem. It might not seem like she does but...she does. She's never been good enough for anybody, in her eyes; but if you actually asked her she would probably say that no one has been good enough for _her_." He shrugged, rubbing up and down his arms to try and fight off the chill. "Most of them weren't; but some really cared about her and she let how all of those other guys made her feel ruin something that could've been -"

Cassidy gasped and spun around to face him again, interrupting, "You're so in love with her!"

He didn't move and didn't address the accusation one way or the other. It wasn't any of her business and he'd probably said too much already. _Of course_ he loved her. He didn't search for her for a year and half because he hated her.

She sighed and blew a piece of hair away from her face. "Well...you should tell her. Not to mess with her and Batch but because she's up there puking her guts out at the thought of you hating her." She brushed past him now, saying over her shoulder, "And if it breaks them up in the process, that's just the sprinkles on the sundae."

He rolled his eyes and started off in the other direction, his face getting chapped and windblown. Was she really that upset? She didn't seem to care when they were "introduced" earlier.

He had to be honest with himself and admit that all these months he may have had less-than-affectionate feelings for her; but _hate_? He could count the number of people he actually hated on one hand and all of them were back home, most of them relatives. If anything he thought that she would hate _him_. She was the one that ran off, after all.

He never ran - not from something like that. He ran away from pain and hurt and abuse - not love. Jessie ran away from everything, it seemed like; and when he ran with her, he never thought of it as running away but as running _toward_ something - toward _her_.

Sighing as he opened the door to headquarters and stepped back into the warmth, he came to the sad realization that he would probably be running after her for the rest of their lives.

* * *

><p>They both leaned awkwardly next to each other against the gigantic building that housed headquarters, too close to where he'd had his encounter with her roommate last night for his liking. They breathed heavily, trying to catch their breath from the rigorous obstacle course they'd just completed.<p>

For the second time since their reunion, James had made a remark about never running away. It kept echoing in her head alongside the rapid beating of her heart. His voice was so different. _He_ was different. She couldn't be the reason for his drastic change. That would be absurd. Who let someone else affect them that much? She chose to forget about her stomach problems the previous night.

"Your roommate is a piece of work," James said once they had stopped panting, still leaning against the wall.

"This is true," she replied, arms crossed, staring down at the ground. "What does that have to do with anything?"

He shrugged, running a hand back through his hair. "She's plotting against you."

Jessie snorted and rested her head back against the building, closing her eyes. "What's new?"

James glanced over at her quickly before looking back out over the obstacle course. "She wanted me to seduce you while she seduced your..._boyfriend_ or whoever he is and break you two up."

She jerked her head to look at him, eyes slightly wider, standing up straight and moving away from the wall. "_What_?"

"When I said no, she tried to convince me to get with _her_ for some twisted kind of revenge. Who knows?" He paused and let his head rest back against the wall. "It seems like you intimidate her. She's worried that Biff will be too distracted screwing you to focus on becoming an agent."

Her eyes widened more and she leaned against the wall for support, simply staring at him. So much was wrong with what he'd just said, the least of which being Butch's name. It wasn't James. James didn't talk like that. He didn't brush things like this off so nonchalantly. James squealed and whined and occasionally shrieked in a higher pitch than she could ever reach. This wasn't James. This wasn't _her_ James.

He poked at the ground with the toe of his boot and crossed his arms against his chest. "He must be pretty special."

She willed for something - anything - to strike her down at that very moment. A wayward attack. A meteor. Maybe the sun could explode. _Something_ to make the torture stop. "We knew each other when we were little," she said quickly, not caring at the moment how shaky her voice was.

"That's nice." He moved away from the wall and stretched, walking past her toward the doors. "I just thought you'd like to know."

Jessie watched him go inside so calm, cool, and casual about everything. She sat down on the ground, still staring at the doors he'd walked through. How could she be such an idiot? She was hurt and thought that _he'd_ destroyed _her_. Whatever she'd become since the bike gang, it wasn't close to James. _She'd_ destroyed _him_ - really and truly knocked him down to nothing but rubble only to be rebuilt into something that she didn't recognize. How would they ever be able to get past it? Did he even want to?

* * *

><p>Meowth was unsure of what to do. Generally speaking, he didn't like humans very much and thought that any bad thing that happened to them had to be deserved somehow; but James was probably the nicest person he'd ever met. What did he do that was so bad that he had to face-plant into the river and end up so hurt?<p>

It was all his fault - and that was another reason why he was so unsure of himself. Their whole test mission James had been taking care of him and making sure nothing bad happened to him. If he wasn't such a big baby, he wouldn't have yowled the way he did when James grabbed his tail. James wouldn't have felt guilty about it and would never have let go.

He looked next to him, watching as Jessie tapped her foot against the floor, hunched over and chewing her bottom lip. He could've sworn that he saw the hint of tears in her eyes but wasn't about to make a big deal out of it. He shuddered to himself, the sound of Jessie's voice screaming for James as he fell running through his head over and over. He probably would've hurt the girl less if he'd just gone and stabbed her in the heart.

He _had_ to say _something_ to her. He had to try and comfort her - they were teammates now. That's what teammates did. Placing his paws in his lap, he looked down at them and said quietly, "I...I'm real sorry."

Jessie looked over at him and sat up slightly, shaking her head. "It's not your fault."

Meowth nodded a little, shifting uncomfortably against the waiting room chair. "It is. I shoulda kept my big Meowth shut so he wouldn't feel so bad 'bout hangin' on to my tail."

"It was a reflex. You yell out when you're in pain. That's how life works."

He shrugged, staying quiet for a few moments before looking up and asking her, "Is dat why you yelled for him? You was in pain?"

She quickly turned her head away, not about to show weakness in front of their new teammate. "I was surprised. That's all."

Looking at her for a few minutes in silence, he got up and cautiously crawled his way into her lap, curling up and hugging his tail close, mentally cursing the stupid thing and how sensitive it had to be.

Jessie looked down at him, unsure now herself. He wasn't like other Meowths...did she pet him? Did she leave him alone? She bit her lip and tentatively lifted a hand and placed it on his head, slowly and gently petting it.

Meowth closed his eyes and let out a long purr, nuzzling closer to her.

She smiled slightly and looked up, letting out a heavy sigh. If there was anything good that came out of this, it was the realization that maybe - just maybe - James hadn't changed as much as she'd thought.

She felt bad about waking Meowth up and making him move a few minutes later when the nurse came out. She updated them on his condition - words that muddled in her brain and didn't seem to quite connect properly. Willful ignorance. It was bliss, after all.

When she was done, Jessie asked if they could see him. She must have looked awful, the way that nurse looked at her with such pity; but whatever the reason, it worked and she decided to make an exception for them, agreeing to let them visit for a few minutes. Meowth declined, not quite ready to see James just yet and afraid of what he might see once he did.

Jessie followed the nurse cautiously, more scared and nervous than she'd ever been in her life. She wasn't particularly thrilled with the thought of what would be waiting for her in that room, either.

The nurse showed her the room and left after giving instructions not to do this, he's very that, don't be alarmed when. She stood outside the door, gently touching the handle. What was she _doing_? They may have come to an understanding as a team but as far as her relationship with James was concerned...it probably wasn't good.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to suck it up. James was hurt and as long as that was the case, her feelings and fears were insignificant and selfish. Opening the door, she peeked her head in first, seeing that he looked much the same as he had when they saw him briefly before he went into surgery. She let out her breath and stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind her. She stood, unsure of herself once again. The last thing she wanted was to upset him and make things worse - if that were even possible at this point. Maybe if he saw her he would flip out and his heart would stop and he would -

"Hey, what are you just standing there for?"

She blinked herself out of her terribly morbid thoughts and smiled slightly at the weak, strained voice that came from the pile of bandages in the bed. Moving closer, she pulled up a chair and sat next to him, sitting on her hands. "You're going to be okay."

His head tilted to the side to look at her, he smiled. "I had a feeling."

Jessie laughed softly, biting her lip and looking down at her lap. Seeing him like this was something she hoped to never experience again - and she wouldn't. Not if she had anything to say about it. "Meowth feels horrible."

"Where is he?"

"That horrible feeling made him decide not to come."

James frowned slightly. "You'll tell him that it's not his fault, right?"

"Already done." She glanced up at him and smiled again before looking back at her legs. "You're not allowed to scare me like that anymore."

His furrowed brow melted away and another smile formed on his lips. "I'll try."

A small wet splatter appeared on her pants and she blinked in confusion. Lifting a hand to her face, she felt the hot tears running down her face. She didn't even realize that she'd been crying.

James groaned in pain, trying to reach his hand out to her and unable to keep from smiling more when she shot him one of her famous death glares. "Don't cry. I've always hated it when you cry."

Being made aware of her tears only made them flow faster, no matter how many times she tried to blink them away or shake her head. "Well, I officially hate it when you bust up your body being an idiot. So we're even."

He watched her struggle to keep her emotions in check, a feeling tugging at his heart that he hadn't had in months. All he wanted to do right in that moment was hold her and tell her everything was going to be fine. For some reason she always believed him when he said that even though he was the furthest thing from sure, himself. He couldn't just lay there and watch her cry. Biting his lip, he said, "I never stopped looking for you."

She lifted her head up, staring at him in bewilderment. "Why?" she asked softly.

"You're my best friend. Why wouldn't I?"

Jessie shrugged a little, darting her gaze away from him. "How in the world did you get here, then?"

He shut his eyes and let his body melt into the itchy hospital sheets and pillows, no longer having the energy or will to attempt to make himself look like less of a melted marshmallow. "I saw a flier. I never thought I would find you there...I only joined because of the opportunity to travel and maybe find you somewhere that I couldn't easily get to on my bike."

She shook her head, laughing again quietly. "So you found me."

He tried to sit himself up more without success and let out a pained moan. Jessie frowned at him and opened her mouth to scold him for being so stupid and stubborn when he beat her to the punch. "No matter how lost you get, I'll always find you again."

She stared at him, her eyes wide and brimming with tears once again while her mouth hung open slightly. His eyes were still shut and he was trying to get back into the relaxed position he'd pulled himself out of. So many conflicting feelings swirled in her head and her heart to the point of dizziness. She put her hand to her head and closed her eyes as well, taking a deep breath. "I should probably go. You need your rest and I don't want that nurse bitching at me."

James nodded, trying to yawn with all of his bandages on, opening his eyes. "Yeah...I'm really tired all of a sudden."

Jessie stood and turned to leave but stopped herself, turning back to him and leaning down, kissing his forehead gently. Before he could properly react, she was gone, brushing past Meowth in the hall.

She didn't stop until they reached headquarters. Making a wary Meowth go...wherever the hell it was he actually slept, she went to the staircase, opting to make the long climb to her floor than use the elevator.

She should have been relieved that James was okay - and she was, of course; but more of her being was buckling under the weight of her negative emotions than stood strong with her good ones. All she wanted right then and there was to feel something besides the hurt in her heart that had only become amplified since James came back into her life. Even if it was only for a split-second she would be happy.

Unfortunately, there was only one thing that she could think of that had any chance of accomplishing what she wanted.

* * *

><p>She laid in bed, holding a pillow around her head to try and keep the sounds of the unnatural and disgusting thing happening next to her out of her ears. It didn't work very well - though she was fairly certain Jessie was being purposely loud as some kind of payback for that whole silly James thing. Wasn't he still in the hospital? What kind of person goes and bangs their boy toy while somebody they really care about is hurt and on the verge of death? (Or so she'd heard from the rumor mill.)<p>

Rumors were also swirling that Jessie had dropped him intentionally, comments made to the effect of, "there's Jessie, fucking up with her partner again." Cassidy wasn't so sure. How awful she looked when she returned to their room and then the way she'd all but attacked Butch, seeming more needy and desperate than usual made her think that she wasn't to blame and was much more upset about the whole thing than she wanted to let on to anybody else.

Cassidy clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, pressing the pillow closer to her head. She would have to think up one doozy of a rumor to start spreading about her after this garbage.

Suddenly there was a loud moan and Cassidy's eyes shot open. She sat up in bed, not caring for once that the two were mid-coitus, staring at them as Jessie sputtered, trying desperately to explain herself. All Cassidy could do was burst out laughing, falling back against her bed.

Jessie shot daggers at her, starting to rush at her when a hand gently grabbed her elbow the way he did when he finally worked up the courage to talk to her all those months ago. She turned, staring helplessly at the hurt and confused person in front of her. Was there anything she could really say? "Butch...I - I don't know why that -"

"I do." He stood, gathering his clothes and slipping them on.

Cassidy still giggled uncontrollably, thankful that James had shot down her plan - this was so much more entertaining and satisfying.

Jessie sat down on the bed, watching as he got dressed, wrapping her blankets tightly around herself. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Butch finished dressing and looked at her, his feelings conflicting inside of himself: some told him to scream and yell at her while others told him to try and be understanding. He didn't want to do any of that. All he wanted to do was leave and never look back. "Don't. I get it. I was a replacement for him. Now he's back and I'm out."

She shook her head and swallowed hard, her voice still hardly a whisper, "That's not true."

"Um, you moaned out the guy's name during sex with someone else. It's not exactly great, Jess."

Jessie shot Cassidy a look that made even her scoot back on her bed to get farther away. "Keep that pillow handy. I might need it to suffocate you while you sleep." She turned back to Butch at the sound of the door opening, only to see his body for a few brief seconds before the door shut behind him.

* * *

><p>Cassidy smirked to herself as Jessie screamed in happiness, wrapping her arms around James's neck as he lifted her off the ground, spinning her around. Butch shot them a cold glare through his bandages before limping off to help Cassidy pack her things for the move from dorms to actual small apartments. Cassidy glanced back at the team, limping as well. "Too bad all of those ridiculous <em>feelings<em> they have will end up ruining them."

Realizing what she was doing, Jessie quickly let go of James and took a step back, dropping her hands to her sides. She wished that she hadn't become so painfully aware of her surroundings and their situation; for a few brief moments, it was like nothing had changed. That's all they were, though - moments.

She stuck out her hand for him to shake which he looked at with a raised eyebrow. Smiling a little, he reached forward and slapped her hand with his, the way she had the day they first met. Jessie's heart jumped into her throat and she was unable to help the tears that welled up in her eyes. James smiled more, placing his hand on her cheek and looking so deeply into her eyes she could almost feel the pressure of them penetrating through her. The two leaned in toward each other only to stop abruptly and move away at Meowth's sudden presence, trying to act as though nothing had happened.

Meowth eyed them from one to the other and back again and then shrugged. "Hey! We get an assistant! I got da guy's room number from Viper! Wanna say hi with me?"

Jessie and James smiled wider than what was necessary, both nodding. "Let me just pack some stuff and then our assistant can help us move!" Jessie said excitedly.

"Now yer tinkin'! I'm gonna go ahead and see what he can do about gettin' me a nice, big, comfy kitty bed..." he trailed off as he walked, letting out an already content and happy sigh.

The two new Rockets stood across from each other, neither looking at the other or saying anything until James broke the silence, "You want some help packing?"

Jessie nodded in response, smiling again as they made their way to the room that she, thankfully, no longer had to share with Cassidy - a victory in and of itself.

* * *

><p>Cassidy sat on her bed, watching as Butch began packing her things, already pleased with his obedience despite more than half of his body being banged up and broken. He bent over to pick up a box and she tilted her head to the side, surveying the state of his butt. She shrugged to herself and spoke up, her voice dripping in faux pity, "That must have been hard to watch, huh?"<p>

Butch rolled his eyes. "Not in the mood for it today, Cass."

She pouted at him. "Why are you in such a bad mood? We did it, didn't we?"

"Yeah. Right. And it was completely worth all the pain I'm in right now."

"Emotional? Physical?" she inquired.

He rolled his eyes again. "Like you give a shit."

Her eyes scanned up and down his body once again, head tilting to the other side to appreciate it from another angle. "I think I have something that might ease it. That's all."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What? Like drugs?"

Cassidy reached out and grabbed him by the waist of his pants, tugging him to her. Looking up at him with her lavender eyes full of supposed innocence, she undid his pants and cupped him through his underwear, returning his raised eyebrow. "Something like that."

Butch gulped, closing his eyes at her touch and fighting back a quiet moan. "Cassidy, fuck." He shook his head and stepped back from her, running his hands through his hair. "This is not okay."

Amused, she grabbed him by the pants again and tugged him toward her with more force this time. "You know something? You're right." Hooking her fingers in the belt loops of his pants, she pulled them down, giving him another completely innocent look. "Still not okay." She reached for his underwear only to have him swat her hand away.

"Cassidy..." He let out a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes once again at the stupid little pout she was giving him. "_Shit_," he muttered, pulling himself out of his underwear, his cheeks growing warm and red. "I really hate you."

"I know, right?"


	13. Boy and Girl, Interrupted

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Jessie and James made their way down the hall to the girls' room, chatting idly the whole time about nothing in particular, although not the way they once had. This time it was more about filling the silence between them, both desperate to alleviate at least some of the awkwardness they felt now that Meowth was gone and their almost-kiss hung in the air above them like a Mankey.<p>

Opening the door, Jessie stopped abruptly in the doorway, prompting James to frown and try to look past her into the room. His eyes widened and he jerked his head in the other direction, putting his hand up against his face for even more blockage.

Butch stumbled around, trying to pull his pants back up as quickly as possible, cheeks now bright red, the color running all the way to his ears. "Jessie! Jessie, I can explain -"

Growling at the self-satisfied smirk on her rival's face, Jessie charged at her, screaming, "You _fucking bitch_!"

Cassidy shrieked and tried to hide behind Butch, yelling back, "We're broken enough already, you stupid little -"

"Not broken enough!" Jessie shoved Butch out of the way and across the room, causing him to land on her bed, his face mixed with pain, confusion, and embarrassment. She tackled Cassidy onto her own bed, clawing at her face mercilessly with her nails, straddling her and using her other hand pull her hair. "I'll rip every tiny hair out until I find out what your natural hair color is, you _slut_!"

Still shrieking, Cassidy grabbed Jessie's hair with both hands and tugged. "Get off of me! Are you _crazy_?!"

She felt herself being pulled off of her but still Jessie fought, trying to get out of James's arms and finish what she'd started.

Butch stumbled over to Cassidy, taken aback by the amount of bloody scratches on his partner's cheeks. He looked up at her and frowned. "What the fuck, Jess? You can call out _his_," he gestured to James with a hint of disgust, "name during sex, but I can't get a blowjob _after_ we've broken up? That doesn't make any damn sense!"

Breathing hard and still struggling to get out of James's grip, she growled - a gutteral noise that came from the depths of her long-dormant frustration at just about everything around her. "_Fuck you_!"

Butch and Cassidy seemed completely horrified at Jessie's sudden change in demeanor while James just held onto her tightly. He'd seen her like this before when they were at school and word got out about her mother. Pulling at her and wincing in pain as she turned her assault onto him, scratching and kicking frantically, he managed to drag her out of the room and down the hall before stopping and catching his own breath. "Jess, jeez."

She shoved him away, spinning around to glare at him. The look in her eye and disheveled way her hair fell reminded him of that night in the warehouse. He felt terrible that a part of him was relieved that she'd left him and still found no peace or happiness.

He swallowed hard, pushing thoughts of comeuppance out of his mind and grabbing her by the shoulders, looking into her eyes. "Jessie..." He didn't know what to do or what to say to calm her down, racking his brain as quickly as he could for anything that might be of use. "...Jess, it's me. It's James. I'm right here and it's okay," he said softly, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been keeping in when her body seemed to deflate against him. He held her close, trying to run his fingers through her wild mane without much success. "It's all gonna be okay. I promise."

Jessie shut her eyes, shaking from anger and hurt, resting her head against his chest. She inhaled deeply and clutched at the back of his uniform, digging her nails into the fabric. It scared her that she had forgotten what he smelled like and how big and loving his embrace could be. Why did she always remember the bad and seem to forget the good? Letting out her breath slowly, she held him close and said matter-of-factly, "I kicked her ass."

James laughed, slowly pulling away from her to look down and brush some stray hairs away from her face. "Yeah, you did." Sliding an arm around her waist, he started off with her again toward his room, explaining, "I know exactly what will make you feel better."

She shook her head but put up no fight, lazily walking along beside him. "I don't want to feel better. I put up with her shit for too long. If I wasn't trying to be a better person, I wouldn't have all of this built up inside and it would never have come out like that."

"You would just kick her ass in smaller increments," he said, glancing down at her again with a smile.

"Is that so wrong?" she asked, frowning to herself at her own question. _Was_ it wrong? Everybody got angry and sad and happy...of course, not everybody beats the shit out of what angers them; sinks into a deep, dark depression when they're sad; or believe in fairy tales and that they're living in a perfect one whenever they're happy. As they arrived at James's door, she looked up at him, still frowning. "I think I'm messed up, James."

He opened the door and went inside with her, shoving it shut behind him and sitting down next to her on his bed. "We all are."

"No...I mean, I think there's something really wrong with me." She bit her lip and looked down at her lap, spying strands of Cassidy's hair tangled in her fingernails. "Normal people don't do this." Looking up at him, she asked quietly, "Have I always been like this?"

James frowned and got up off the bed, getting to his knees and searching with one hand under the bed for something. Jessie watched him curiously, smiling at the faces he made as he strained, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth in concentration. Finally he grinned and pulled out a notebook, rejoining her on the bed. He handed it to her, leaning over her shoulder as she opened it and looked inside. "Look familiar?"

Jessie swallowed hard, fingers gently running across the first page. "It's...it's..." She shook her head, trying to shake away the tears that were already threatening to spill, leaning over and burying her face in his chest.

He smiled, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head atop hers, murmuring against her hair, "It's us."

Jessie broke down crying, keeping her head pressed against his chest. Taking a deep, sharp inhale of breath she said hurriedly, "I'm so sorry. You were being the sweet, amazing person that you are and I ran away. I thought you didn't..." She trailed off, choking back quiet sobs and tensing up, trying to keep herself from shaking so much.

James shook his head a little, unable to help the blush that made its way to his cheeks. "I did. I really, really did." He pulled away from her grasp again to meet her eyes, still glistening pools of sapphire just the way he'd remembered. "Just not like that."

She nodded, sniffling and wiping her cheeks, saying quietly, "I know." Looking down at the notebook, she let out a small laugh, hitting him playfully in the chest. "I can't believe you kept this."

He shrugged, her laugh igniting a smile of his own. "I can't believe you're still wearing those earrings."

She lifted a hand to one, running her finger across the emerald-colored stone. "I haven't taken them off."

His smile broadened and then turned mischievous as he leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. "And what's this I hear about saying the wrong name with Botch?"

Jessie bit her lip as they looked into each other's eyes, so close their noses almost touched. "His name is Butch and you know it."

"Don't change the subject!"

Wanting to pull away and hide her increasingly flushed face, she couldn't bring herself to actually do it. "Well...what do you _think_?"

His cheeks burned with the promise of what would be a bright red blush. "Should I be...flattered?"

"You _should_ be kissing me," she blurted out, eyes widening. Where had _that_ come from?; and more importantly, how did her stupid brain not stop her from saying it? It had always put things in reverse before, turning around and going back to what was comfortable and secure. Why risk going down the path not travelled when the current one was just as good?

This _was_ James, of course. Maybe she had felt something for him before while they were in the bike gang - and maybe even a little bit at Pokemon Tech in their later years; but so much had changed and they were barely on solid ground with their friendship...solid ground that she was certain she had just dug up and salted, never to grow anything again. She tried to speak, her mouth moving but no words coming out. There _had_ to be something wrong with her. It would actually be a relief if it were true; at least there would be some explanation for her actions.

He remained still for a moment, his eyes searching hers. She was embarrassed but the look he got in return showed a hint of fear as well. Fear of being rejected? Again? Rejecting her was the farthest thing from his mind. Slowly James leaned in and kissed her with everything he had. A hand went up to her cheek, his fingers getting caught in her thoroughly tangled hair, recalling Cassidy's tactic of using it to keep her close.

Jessie let out a small squeak when his lips pressed against hers, returning the kiss softly at first. She slid her arms around his neck and used the leverage to pull herself closer, almost into his lap. Her eyes fell shut and suddenly she was kissing him with as much passion as he was her.

It was the culmination of years of awkward of moments and near-misses, neither one letting up for a second as their hands explored each other's bodies. She tugged desperately at the bottom of his uniform as one of his hands moved down to undo his belt and toss it aside before using the same hand to do the same to hers. Laying back on the bed and pulling him with her, their heads almost hanging off the edge, she grumbled against his lips at the realization that, if they were going to get anywhere with their clothes, they had to break the kiss. James grumbled back, seemingly in agreement with her.

With a groan she rolled over, pushing him down against the mattress and sitting on top of him much the same way she had Cassidy. Deepening the kiss for a few seconds before forcing herself to pull back, she stared down at him as he stared up at her, both breathless. She pulled her top off over her head to reveal her lacy black bra, tossing the shirt back behind her. When she went for his he stopped her, making her frown and look to him for an answer, only to be met with his head turning the other way.

He had been an incredible idiot up until then, not realizing until she was right there - half-naked and on top of him - that this whole "stripping" thing worked both ways. Shifting against her, he mumbled, "Can't I leave it on?"

Her frown grew and she sat back, hands still hanging on to the fabric of his shirt. "What? Why?"

"There's - there's nothing to see. Unlike _your_ chest, which..." he swallowed hard, staring at her chest and hoping that he didn't look _too_ pervy. The same embarrassment that he felt the first day they met when he caught her putting away her unmentionables resurfaced. He felt like he was seeing something he wasn't supposed to - something forbidden that only made him want to see it even more simply _because_ it was wrong.

Jessie blinked, ignoring his stare and attempt at distraction - she _did_ have pretty nice boobs but that wasn't exactly news to her. "What's wrong with you? Are you trying to -" Slowly her eyes widened and her confused frown was replaced with one of sympathy and concern. She had been more dense than fog. _Of course_ he would think twice and try to squelch anything that would mean taking his shirt off. He was so self-conscious that he even swam with his shirt on. It should have clicked much sooner. "Oh, James..." She rested a hand against his cheek, stroking it lightly with her thumb. "You know I don't care about that."

He shrugged, quickly averting his gaze again. "This is different. It's supposed to be sexy and everything and I'm..."

"Incredibly sexy, you idiot," she finished for him, leaning down and kissing him softly.

Shaking his head, a blush began to creep into his cheeks as he felt her breasts brushing against his body when she leaned in. "You say that now -"

"I'll say it always."

He swallowed hard again; his mouth was dry, the action feeling as though he was swallowing a Cacnea. Taking a deep breath, he sat up and looked at her for some kind of reassurance; for once, _he_ was the one that needed to know everything would be okay.

She smiled at him and brushed some of his hair out of his eyes. He sighed out the breath he'd taken and looked down at himself, hands grabbing on to the bottom of his shirt and starting to tug up.

"_Ahh_!" came a familiar yell from the doorway, both of them jerking their heads to see Meowth covering his eyes.

Their eyes widened and she quickly got off of him, grabbing her shirt and haphazardly slipping back into it. James pointed at her with emphasis and she looked down to see that she'd put the stupid thing on backwards.

"Son of a -"

"I didn't see nothin'! I swear!" said their blind companion, attempting to find the exit again but only managing to knock into things and trip over clothes and books.

The two of them looked at each other and raised their eyebrows at the same time, mirroring each other. James laughed quietly and Jessie rolled her eyes before standing up and grabbing Meowth by his scruff, lifting him off the ground. "It's safe now. No awful human parts to scar you for all of your nine lives."

Meowth slowly spread his paws open - still over his eyes - to make sure that she was telling the truth. He dropped them to his sides and sighed heavily. "Ain't ya ever heard of puttin' a sock or somethin' on da door? Ya better start if dis is gonna be a regular ting!"

Jessie opened her mouth to answer but closed it and looked to James, whose face had kept its promise of turning bright red. Looking back to Meowth, she dropped him on the ground with a "thud". She crossed her arms and scowled down at him. "We're real agents now. Even if we wanted to make it a "regular ting"," she said, using air quotes and a mocking version of the small Pokemon's accent, "we simply won't have the time." Tossing her hair back over her shoulder, she started for the door and looked back at her teammates. "Well, are you going to introduce us to our assistant or not?"

"Heh..." Meowth slowly stood up and, watching her carefully, went past Jessie and out the door. "Follow me, den."

James rushed to the door, closing it behind them, and grabbed Jessie's hand, pulling at it slightly. "Your shirt!" he whispered loudly to her.

She rolled her eyes again and stopped in the hallway, taking her shirt off and putting it back on the right way. "There. Better?"

"Um...hey youse guys..."

They both looked a short way down the hall and saw Meowth holding his head, standing next to a boy with brown hair and eyes that couldn't have been more than thirteen. His face was bright red, eyes wide and still glued to Jessie.

"...Dis is our assistant, Mondo."

James started to laugh but quickly put his hand over his mouth and stepped back from Jessie. She'd already beaten the snot out of one person that day and after being interrupted _again_ by Meowth, it probably wouldn't take a whole lot to set her off.

Jessie crossed her arms and frowned, not understanding what was going on. She looked from James, who kept gesturing to the kid with his head, still covering his giggling mouth; to the kid, who still hadn't moved - he hadn't even blinked, that she could notice; looking back to James, he used his free hand to point at her shirt and then point to the kid again. Slowly she blinked, eyes growing wide, spinning around to face Meowth and Mondo, her face almost as red as his. "_Meowth_!" she screamed and started down the hall after him as he wailed, trying to get away.

James went over to Mondo and put a hand on his shoulder, still not getting any kind of response. "I know exactly how you feel, buddy."


	14. Workin' for the Man

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>She sat at Giovanni's new chestnut desk and marveled for a moment over how it was <em>bigger<em> than the one before it, defying logic and mathematics. She reached across and ran her hands along the cherry-stained grain, sitting on the edge of his equally new chair. Still spread across the desk, she looked up at him and slowly, a mischievous grin came across her lips. "We should christen this."

Giovanni smirked, sitting on another new piece of furniture - a large new velvet couch - and shook his head, beckoning her over with the manilla folder he held in his hand.

Miyamoto frowned and forced herself to move from the comfy chair, going to the couch and making herself comfortable. It wasn't an easy task as her brain still equated velvet with things that weren't very high on her list of things to recall in life. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the folder.

He set the folder in his lap and looked down at it, his smirk trying to twist into a smile and barely succeeding. "I've found our daughter."

Her eyes widened and she reached for the folder, snatching it from him before he could react. Madame Boss always said she had exceptional reflexes. Opening the folder, she blinked and stared for a few moments before rolling her eyes and offering the thing back to him. "Very funny. What a dick move."

He shook his head again then gestured with it to the folder. "Read it."

Miyamoto sighed and returned to looking over the file. She raised her eyebrows at the results of the training and tests, looking at Giovanni who simply nodded in response to her silent inquiry. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that he was beaming just a little bit. "Okay, so this girl is pretty awesome. Who is she?"

Giovanni leaned toward her and pointed at the photo of the young recruit that was attached to her file. "It's not a joke. That's her."

She turned her head back to the file, bringing it closer to her face to examine every bit of the photo. Satisfied (if that's what you could call it), she set it down. It was her turn to stare at it as it sat in her lap - a ticking time bomb that could explode at any second and change the lives of so many. Miyamoto looked up at Giovanni. "We aren't going to tell her, are we?"

"I think it's better that way, don't you?"

Miyamoto shook her head, looking back to the photo. "I don't know anymore."

"This is better than having some second-rate school keep an eye on her for us and send reports and photos," he said, moving closer to her and resting his arm behind her on the back of the couch. "She's _here_. In fact, it's very likely we might be seeing her quite often, if she keeps going at this rate."

"I hope she doesn't," Miyamoto said quietly, closing the folder and thrusting it back into his hands. "I know that position too well. I don't want that for her. I don't want any of this for her!"

He narrowed his eyes and removed his arm from the couch, his hand snatching the folder from her. "Would you rather she be lost in the wilderness? At least here she has a roof over her head."

"Oh, yeah," she said flatly, "that Team Rocket roof, all right. Under it everyone's picking daisies and painting rainbows and shitting out glitter."

"If you don't want her to be successful -"

"_I do_," she replied sternly. "I just don't want her to be successful at _this_."

Giovanni stood, walking over to the new mini-bar that seemed more normal-sized than mini to Miyamoto. "We shouldn't be so shocked. She's _our_ daughter, of course she would excel at becoming a member of Team Rocket."

Resting back against the couch, she crossed her arms and glared at him from across the room as he poured himself a drink. "That's not something people tend to brag about."

Taking a sip of his drink, he leaned against the bar and returned her dark gaze. "I seem to remember you bragging about it quite a lot."

"And then I was nearly killed. Great organization, you've got there, Giovanni. Stellar human resources department."

He rolled his eyes and turned back to the bar to pour himself another drink - about three times stronger than the first. "I'm not going to let you ruin this for me, Miyamoto."

"I don't give a damn about ruining anything for you! I care about ruining things for Jessie."

"She's doing extremely well with her first official assignment, if that makes you feel any better."

Miyamoto's jaw dropped and she stood up, pointing at him while she made the trek across the office to the bar. "You son of a _bitch_! How long have you known?"

He shrugged, swirling some of the leftover ice around in his glass. "A few weeks. Months?" He paused and thought to himself before returning to his glass, downing the rest of it. "Two and a half months."

Clenching her teeth, she grabbed the glass from him and threw it across the room, the sound of it breaking against the wall so satisfying. It would only have been better if it were his skull. "How could you keep this from me?!"

Unfazed by her violent turn, he took another glass and began to pour again. "Quite easily, actually."

She growled and grabbed the full glass from him and threw that as well, forgetting for a minute that some poor, lowly Rocket grunt was going to have to scrub that booze out of the rug. "What's her assignment?"

Giving up on the bar for the time being, he walked over to his chair and sat down, resting back against it. "Double-Cross," he replied.

Her eyes widened, too shocked to even yell at him. What the hell was he thinking? Hadn't the whole point of giving her up been to give her a better, safer life? Now he was throwing her out there like food to a Snorlax. "Have you lost your fucking _mind_?"

"I told you, she's very good. It seems she's developed a bit of a system with her teammates and it appears to be working out in their favor."

Still in shock, she put her hand to her forehead, staring at him. "Are you _high_?"

He laughed, looking down underneath the desk where his Persian had just mewed, awakening from a nap. "You know I don't partake in those kinds of things anymore, Miyamoto."

"Well, did you hit your head? Get a lobotomy? I can't think of any other reason besides a mental disorder why you would put our daughter in danger like this."

He looked up at her with the same look he often gave members to strike fear into their hearts. He knew it wouldn't work on her - she knew him far too well and had been with him for far too long - but he felt it necessary nonetheless. "I believe in her. One day, she _will_ find out the truth and when she does, I want to feel secure having her take over the company."

She blinked at him briefly and then burst out laughing, continuing as she went back to the couch and sat down. "That's what this is all about, isn't it? It's what it's always about. All you care about is this company!"

"_This company_ is what's keeping our daughter off the streets!"

"I seem to remember a time when you wanted nothing to do with any of the responsibility of this place."

"Yes," he said, reaching a hand down for Persian to lick, "but then I knocked up a drunken slut and had to reconsider things."

She rolled her eyes at him, clapping her hands slowly in sarcastic applause. "Oh, nice. Very nice, Giovanni."

Ignoring her attitude - something he had grown quite accustomed to doing after so many years - he began, "I do have a job for you, though." He stood and leaned against the side of the desk, crossing his arms. "I need you to be my executive assistant." Persian came strolling out from under the desk, slowly stretching out and yawning. "That's just a polite way of saying 'secretary'."

"I know what the fuck it is," she retorted, glaring at the Persian. He cared more about that Pokemon than he did her or Jessie. How she hated that thing.

"Good, at least we have that down. There's a bit of a catch, though..."

She threw her hands up in the air and sunk back into the couch, grumpily asking, "_What_?"

"You get to play pretend."

"Quit it with the cryptic bullshit. I know all your tactics and you aren't about to get the drop on me."

He smirked slightly, raising an eyebrow at her. Even after so many years she was still the same venomous little Arbok she'd always been. He took a moment to let his eyes travel up her body, deciding that his very important executive assistant was going to wear the same black uniform she had when she was still an agent - if only for his pleasure and amusement.

"When you're acting as my assistant, you're to be known as 'Matori.'" He sighed and turned, sitting down in his chair again. "You may disguise yourself if you'd like; though, in all honesty, people in this region are so fucking obtuse I'm sure it wouldn't make a difference one way or the other."

"I'm sorry...were you just _ordering me_ to do something?"

"I'm sorry. Did you suddenly go deaf?" he retorted sharply.

"What if I don't want the job?"

"Then you can go lie in the gutter with the rest of the trash, as far as I'm concerned." He shrugged, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in the chair.

Miyamoto stood, shaking her head in disbelief before turning on her heel. "You're such a piece of shit." She punctuated her statement with the loud slam of the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Jessie knelt down behind a dumpster, her black trench coat blowing in the increasing winds. The sky was darker than usual for the time of night and thunder rolled in the distance. She hoped their client would be on time - if she had to screw around with a body in the pouring rain again, she would use the gun on herself.<p>

James stood in front of the dumpster in a back alleyway, one of the numerous sketchy places that Viridian City had to offer for under-the-table business dealings. His trench coat flapped loudly in the wind and he had to put his hand on top of his hat to keep it from blowing away. He gazed out over his sunglasses to the small street view he had from the alley. People were bustling about, trying to make it home before the storm hit. Toward the west, lightning lit up the sky.

He, too, hoped they were done by the time the storm hit. The last time they were stuck in the rain had been quite possibly the most confusing and disturbing experience of his life. Sticking a hand into his pocket and pulling out a bottle cap, he began to flip it in his hand with his thumb. Here they were, waiting and bored - the calm before the storm; then, their client would arrive and all hell would break loose for about sixty seconds before turning back to normal again. It was like being caught in a reverse hurricane: the bulk of the storm was calm but when you reached the center, you were in for it.

Elbowing the dumpster a few times while keeping his eyes out for the mark, he tilted his head back and asked, "Meowth, you good?"

He popped up with a banana peel on his head. "Ain't I always?"

James grinned and Meowth dove back down into the garbage - something both he and Jessie suspected he enjoyed more than he let on, especially when he found old fish. He glanced to his right and saw the brim of Jessie's hat barely peeking out from the dumpster. He couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking about the same thing he was. He'd played it back in his mind so many times and still it didn't seem real - and he had absolutely no idea what to make of any of it.

It had only been about a month since they had started Operation: Double-Cross. They had just received praise that morning from the boss...via a grunt but it was praise and that's what mattered. Apparently the smooth way they took care of business had impressed him tremendously.

That night during their drop a storm much like the one about to hit was already roaring, wind whipping the rain around in tiny twisters throughout the sky. Their usually clean hit and subsequent getaway was hampered by having to toss an already large man into the dumpster - now with the added bonus of sopping wet clothes to make the guy truly impossible to lift. They were spending too much time devising ways to get him in the thing and failing miserably once they put the plans into action.

Jessie was becoming upset, kicking the corpse in the side as it laid in a growing puddle on the ground, rain and blood mixing together against the asphalt. James was perfectly content to leave the guy there, never having quite understood why leaving a body in plain sight was sloppy work but taking the usually small bit of extra time to toss it in the trash was considered a job well done. Meowth was taking shelter from the rain in the dumpster, pulling the top over his head enough to keep from getting wet. They were all out of ideas.

Kicking the body once again, Jessie growled, "Fuck it. Let's leave the guy here."

"Maybe we can roll him into da corner behind some garbage and den come back when it ain't rainin' and dump him!" Meowth suggested.

Jessie and James exchanged looks and then shrugged, no other option looking as good at the moment.

Meowth begrudgingly came out from the dumpster and positioned himself by the man's legs - not much help in the grand scheme of things but he was trying. James took the middle and Jessie the head. Together the three rolled the man as far behind the dumpster as they could manage, out of breath after pushing only a few feet.

Jessie and James stood with their backs against the wall, breathing heavily while Meowth found an old newspaper and put it over his head with very bad results, the thing already soaked to begin with. When he started off he looked back at them and they waved him on, still recovering from their unexpected work out. Meowth rolled his eyes and muttered something about humans, then ran as fast as he could back to headquarters and out of the offending rain.

Jessie took off her sunglasses and stuck them in her coat pocket. She idly wondered if she should be at all concerned with the fact that she could take a human life and roll it around on the ground like a log, excited the whole time and hoping that the boss would reward them handsomely.

Probably.

At the moment, however, she was distracted by James, who had taken off his hat and was shaking out his hair like a wet, furry Pokemon only to have it become soaked within seconds. Her heart was still pounding from the rush of the kill and she could almost feel the blood flowing faster in her veins as a result.

He caught her looking at him and tilted his head, waving his hand in front of her face. "Are you okay?"

A twisted urge shot through her like a lightning bolt in the dark sky. The fear that she was truly a fucked up person started to crawl from the back of her mind to the forefront; but when he ran a hand through his hair, any second-guessing or worry washed away with the rain.

There was something about James when he was in agent mode that made him more attractive to her than usual. He would lower his voice from its usual unmanly tone and smirk and laugh in a way that made him sound like the villain from a superhero movie. He was brave and strong - confident, even. It wasn't odd to her that she was attracted to him for these traits - it was odd that she was attracted to him for these traits despite having just murdered someone.

She took off her own hat and tossed it aside, the wind blowing it up against the wall next to their victim. Stepping in front of James, she grabbed on to the edges of his coat, pulling him to her and crushing her lips against his in a fevered desperation brought on by behaving badly. Why stop with murder, right?

James's eyes widened and then slowly fell back shut, letting her push him against the rough brick of the building behind him. Her hand slid up, running her gloved fingers through his wet hair while her other hand clutched his hip.

James moaned unapologetically as she bit his lip lightly, pressing her body against his. He lifted one hand to the back of her neck and let the other slip past her trench coat to grab her butt with enthusiasm. She jumped and then grinned against his lips, sliding her own hand from his hip to his butt as well.

Jessie let out a small whimper, using her grip on his backside to push him closer against her. Neither had noticed that they were grinding their hips against each other or that her leg had curled its way around his waist, his hand sliding down from her butt to her thigh, helping to keep her balance. He leaned in, kissing along her neck, his fingers tangling helplessly in her drenched hair.

The rain seemed to only fall harder the more they wanted each other, James finding a spot on the nape of her neck to gently suck the rain off of, causing her to gasp and lift herself up on the tip of her toes on her one available leg, needing to feel more of him against her. She moved her hand from his ass to the front, roughly cupping him through his pants and receiving another unabashed moan in return as his body reacted to her touch.

There was another moan that neither of them recognized, making them break apart and slowly turn their heads to the man on the ground next to them. Any other feelings they may have had were now replaced with pure dread. They both watched in frozen horror as he moved his fingers, weakly murmuring for help.

Exchanging wide-eyed looks with each other, Jessie thought quickly and pulled back James's trench coat to reveal the gun he had clipped to his belt. Standing above the man and turning off the safety (which by some miracle James had actually remembered this time), she aimed and fired, hitting her intended target: the back of his head. They stood in silence after the fact, both trying to wrap their heads around what had just happened.

James managed to shake himself out of it first and grabbed her by the wrist, starting to tug her out of the alley. She stopped him and ran back, grabbing her now blood-stained hat before returning to his side to run back to headquarters.

Neither one had spoken to the other about what had happened. It seemed as though they were both fine with having the other think it was a spur-of-the-moment thing brought on by the already high adrenaline rush of killing someone.

"James!" Jessie hissed from her hiding spot, snapping him out of one of his many visits to the memory in his mind.

He looked and saw their mark coming, dressed much the same as they were. He went up to James, darting his eyes around - very inconspicuous, James thought, inwardly rolling his eyes. The man lifted the briefcase he held and opened it, revealing thousands of dollars. Jessie and Meowth nearly keeled over the first time they saw how much cash they were stealing; it was the equivalent of pennies to James - not that he ever shared that with either of them.

James nodded to him and he shut the briefcase as James took a Great Ball out of his pocket and enlarged it. As the man made a move to grab it, Jessie appeared from behind the dumpster. James quickly ducked out of the way seconds before she fired, hitting her target in the left temple. She lowered her weapon and caught her breath as the same adrenaline she'd blamed for their last encounter coursed through her once again.

Meowth hopped out of the dumpster while James minimized the Great Ball again and put it in his pocket. Jessie stepped forward, putting her gun away and linked her arms underneath the man's, gesturing with her head for James to take the legs. A couple of swings to build up momentum and a few seconds later, their victim was in the dumpster, its lid being slammed shut by Meowth.

"Dat was easy!"

Jessie rolled her eyes and grabbed the briefcase of money. "I'd rather have easy than a Wailord."

Meowth blinked up at her and thought for a second before realization struck him. "Oh yeah! Dat big guy we had to leave!" He paused, leading them as they innocently made their way out of the alley just as the rain began to fall in heavy droplets. "Dat was a month ago or somethin'...how'd ya remember dat with all da jobs we get?"

Jessie and James glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes, both ducking their heads and trying to hide their faces in the shadow of their hats. Jessie swung the briefcase forward, smacking Meowth and sending him flying down the sidewalk.

"_That's_ how!"


	15. Volt Switch

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Sitting outside of the boss's office, James tried to keep his nerve up. There were so many things that could go wrong after his meeting with the boss - all of them to him, most likely. Regardless of what the boss decided, he had already physically and mentally prepared himself for the fit Jessie would throw when she found out what he had done.<p>

He _never_ went behind her back. Needing to trust someone was so important to her and had been since the day they first met. He smiled to himself, picturing the pre-teen girl with the braided magenta pigtails that would end up throwing his life for a loop. His smile faded when he thought of what she had become.

Staring down at his lap, he unwittingly recalled the past month in his mind - more specifically, he recalled how Jessie had changed in that time.

She was always tough, never wanting to show any emotion for fear people would think it a weakness in her; but despite her efforts, he always saw what she was feeling in her eyes or even in her demeanor.

Now, within the past few weeks, he saw nothing resembling any type of human emotion in either her eyes or her actions. It seemed like she was a mindless robot, waking up and eating, then getting an assignment, shooting that assignment in the face (literally, at times), and then returning home to spend forty-five minutes in the shower before going to bed. They were rarely playful with each other anymore - she didn't even smack him or tease him.

Meowth noticed the change as well and pointed something out that hadn't occurred to him: she started behaving that way after a particularly rough assignment. He could have smacked _himself_ for not putting two and two together.

Their mission had been harder than usual, the boss's faith in them growing with each completed task. Instead of meeting in the city, the trio made the journey to Viridian Forest just out of town and down a short route. Expecting to be met with two clients - something both the team and the boss thought they were capable of - they were caught off-guard when a third came out from behind a tree.

Unlike his partners, this guy was huge and menacing. His biceps had to be the size of James's head and he towered over the two human Rockets, thoroughly enjoying their reactions. Unfortunately for his team, he also happened to be dumb as a stump.

He had grabbed Jessie and tried to use her as a bargaining chip to get him to hand over the Pokemon they came for without having to pay: a reverse double-cross; that ended up being his first mistake.

James was only a toss away from handing over the Great Balls, the thought of anything happening to Jessie over something so incredibly unimportant taking precedence over any kind of strategic maneuvers he may have recalled from training. Unfortunately for _everyone_ Jessie didn't take too kindly to the other team's plan to use her and screw up _her_ mission.

He remembered staring with Meowth, both of their mouths hanging open after Jessie called him a "motherfucker" and proceeded to plant a swift, solid kick into his kneecap with the heel of her boot. Everyone except her seemed to wince at the cracking sound the connection made, the big idiot yelling out in pain and falling to the ground, clutching his leg.

His two associates ran over to help him, leaving their cash unattended. Mistake number two. Jessie gestured with her head to Meowth, signalling him to grab the suitcase. He made his way to the abandoned money, keeping an eye on the group as he moved. Once he had the suitcase in hand, he scrambled back behind James, prompting Jessie to take out her gun and aim.

He had frowned at her - they were guilty of double-crossing, too and she'd already taken out their biggest threat - what was the point in shooting them? Closing one eye, she cocked the gun and shot twice, the smaller two exchanging shocked looks with each other before falling on top of their large comrade, dead.

James stepped forward, reaching for Jessie's hand but she yanked it away just as his fingers brushed hers and stomped over to the remaining crook who looked up at her in utter horror. She narrowed her eyes and aimed again, shooting out his other kneecap. His cries of pain made James shudder and urge Jessie to hurry up, saying they made too much noise and someone was bound to have heard them.

Not acknowledging him one way or the other, she knelt next to the man, blood smearing against her bare legs. She used the shirt tail of one of the dead men to wipe any possible fingerprints off the gun - gloves or not, she didn't want to leave anything to chance - and forcefully placed it in the man's hand. Writhing and moaning in pain, he grabbed it and tried to aim to shoot at them but was too weak - his final mistake. James suspected that she hit some big artery in his leg and he was bleeding out, consciousness starting to escape him.

When they arrived back at headquarters after a chilly silence between them on the way back, Jessie sat down on the couch and stared straight ahead at their small TV set. Meowth and James shared a worried look before James cautiously went to sit next to her. It was like she was in some kind of trance and he wondered if maybe the whole experience had rendered her catatonic. He tried to snap her out of it, becoming more and more panicked the longer she went without responding.

Just as quickly as it started, it was over and she was already locking the bathroom door and turning on the shower. He had been so concerned with her behavior that he never stopped to think what may have been the cause. Once he did, it seemed almost glaringly obvious that her brutal execution of the three other criminals was the start of her downward spiral.

It was what led him to sit anxiously outside the boss's office that day. Jessie had never been the most emotionally stable person but this seemed to go far beyond that. He would never suggest it to her himself, but maybe the whole thing was psychological in nature. James surmised that she was more shaken by her brief captivity than she wanted to admit - the realization of just how dangerous their job was and that things could turn on a dime frightening her to the point where it enraged her. The end result of three dead bodies likely took its toll on her as well.

Shifting against the chair, he looked up and saw Giovanni's secretary looking at him. She flashed him a smile which he genuinely tried to return. Her expression made him think that he hadn't been very successful.

"So...you're James," she stated, her voice much warmer and friendlier than he thought any one working so closely with the boss would be able to produce.

He nodded a little, trying again to force a smile. "That's me."

She began to watch him again as he went back to giving himself an inner pep-talk. Tapping her pencil against the desk and resting her head on her hand, she smiled again. Her daughter had good taste - better than she ever did. Sitting up in order to feign a look of professionalism, she asked, "What is it you're here to see Giovanni about today?"

Blinking himself from his one-man pep rally, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I was...I was thinking that maybe we could get a different assignment. One that's a little less..."

"Dangerous?" she offered.

"Yeah," he agreed with a nod. "I think our current one is getting to my partner...she's...I don't know." He sighed, looking down at his lap again. "I'm worried about her."

She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from asking more questions and raising suspicion. She would get the scoop from Giovanni after the fact, anyway. "Well, I don't see why that would be a problem at all." She glanced to her side at the sound of the door to his office opening, Giovanni stepping into the doorway. "I know all of the plates you have spinning, don't I, sir?"

Giovanni raised an eyebrow at her. "I suppose you know _enough_."

Smirking, she pointed across the room to their daughter's partner in crime with her pencil. "I certainly know enough to be able to say with every bit of confidence that you'll be able to grant his request, _sir_."

Deciding to ignore her lest they get into one of their spectacular arguments, Giovanni gestured with his hand for James to enter his office with him. He stood at the door and waited for the young man to take a seat in front of his desk and closed it - but not before shooting a glare at Miyamoto.

She simply smiled and waved, turning the gesture into giving him the bird.

He slammed the door, causing James to jump and nearly hit the ceiling. Walking around his desk and sitting in his chair, he made himself comfortable. His Persian stood from its nap and rested its head against its master's leg.

Petting his Pokemon, Giovanni inquired, "What is it I can do for you..." he trailed off, not particularly fond of learning anyone's names and feeling no shame whatsoever about it. He had a company to run, after all.

"...James, sir," he was barely able to reply, the words sounding more like squeaks than anything else.

The boss nodded and gestured again with his hand to get on with it. "Despite what my secretary may think, I'm actually a very busy man, _James_."

He swallowed hard and nodded vigorously, rubbing the sweat from his palms off on the knees of his pants. "I - I was wondering, sir...is it possible for my team to get a new assignment?"

He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. Giovanni knew he'd seen this kid somewhere before. It wasn't simply around headquarters because he almost never mingled with his agents. He couldn't even remember who his partner was. There were bigger things on his plate at the moment. His mind idly wandered to the factory out back...

Catching on to his boss's silence, James offered weakly, "Jessie...Jessie and Meowth? We're um...well, right now we're -"

"Operation: Double-Cross," he finished for him, receiving a nod of confirmation in return.

That was all it took for Giovanni to remember where he had seen the long-haired boy before: pictures from Pokemon Tech. He narrowed his eyes for no reason, from James's perspective; but from Giovanni's this idiot was the one who screwed up his daughter's life.

He only truly focused on Jessie when reading or listening to their reports. She took command and demanded attention and respect, unlike the other two who blended into the background save for a hiss between the Meowth and his Persian.

"What is it that you want, exactly?" Giovanni asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his desk. It gave him a bit of a thrill to see him scoot his chair back, intimidated by him already. The fool didn't know what _real_ intimidation was.

"I...I think that...this assignment..." He swallowed hard, praying that the sweat wasn't actually dripping down his face the way it felt like it was. "Jessie's changed, sir. Ever since we had that encounter with those three thieves who tried to rip us off..." Shifting in the chair, he continued, "I - I realize that we're part of a criminal organization and that, sometimes, violence _is_ the only answer..." He took a deep breath and worked up the courage to look his boss in the eye. "And I believe we've proven that isn't an issue for us."

He still thought James was a waste of space but Giovanni had to admit that he was vaguely impressed with how he was handling the situation - stuttering and shaking aside. Intrigued more than worried, he pushed him for more details, "You three have done a spectacular job thus far. Why in the world would I ever take you off an assignment that you're thriving at?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and inwardly cringed at the sweat that drenched it. "Well, sir...Jessie has become sort of turned off, emotionally." Looking down at his lap, he continued softly, "She's not herself at all. She doesn't even get angry anymore. She doesn't get...anything. She's just...there."

Giovanni sat up a bit straighter in his chair. The intrigue gave way to suspicion - why would a successful agent want to change what was making his team top agents? Why was he here alone and not with his teammates? His eyes narrowed again, watching him nervously squirm in the chair. This went beyond acceptable concern for his daughter - his _agent_, even. His feelings for Jessie gave him the balls to come see him - _alone_, at that - and ask a favor. This was something very dangerous and more powerful than any Pokemon or weapon he could devise.

"So you would like to be taken off Double-Cross and put on a much less important mission...a mission that would likely put a stop to all of the talk of you three becoming Team Rocket legends?" Unable to help himself, he asked, "Is your partner worth all of that trouble and the inevitable decline in respect and rank?"

James took another deep breath and straightened himself up in the chair. He made the best eye contact he could with the boss without peeing his pants. "To me, sir? Jessie is worthless."

He realized what he had said the second it came out and immediately cursed himself. Sure, he had shown a little bit of a backbone and his voice didn't sound like a Pikachu on helium; but he had to say something incredibly stupid to ruin it all.

"I - I mean...I mean she -" He licked his lips and lowered his head, not only losing his nerve to look his boss in the eye but also a little worried about the response he might get. "She's my best friend. I don't know what I would do without her. If anything ever happened to her..." He swallowed hard and shut his eyes, fists clenching at the thought of anyone trying to hurt Jessie on his watch. "I'd do anything for her, sir," he finally said, his voice the strongest it had been their whole meeting.

Giovanni had gotten his answer - not that he was happy about it. What a stupid child this James was. If he thought that he would get in good with his daughter by becoming her knight in shining armor, he was sadly mistaken.

He was only a few years younger than he was when Miyamoto became pregnant; if this pathetic dolt ever put _one single hand_ on Jessie and he found out about it... The very thought of the endless possibilities made him practically giddy.

"I'll have to think about it," he replied, turning his attention back to his Persian, who purred in return. "Until I've made a decision, you three are considered to be on hiatus." Shooting James one more dark look for good measure, he finished, "Are we clear?"

James had never gotten out of a chair so quickly in his life. All he could do was nod and try to offer a grateful smile that he was pretty certain ended up looking like he was about to vomit. It wasn't very far from the truth.

The door slamming shut behind him and making him jump again, he let out a long, deep breath he didn't realize he'd been keeping since the minute Giovanni came out to get him. He looked over at Giovanni's secretary, who was looking at him expectantly. Another forced smile and he said, "He's thinking about it." So relieved that the awful experience was over, James didn't notice when her sweet, supportive smile gave way to a scowl.

She could almost hear Giovanni's mind at work, plotting against Jessie and James in a sick attempt to keep them from going through the same thing that they did. No - that gave Giovanni far too much credit. It was more likely that he was trying to gain control over their daughter and her life after so many years of sitting on the sidelines.

He could be a real sick son of a bitch when he wanted to be.

* * *

><p>James squeezed his eyes shut and groaned, wincing with each angry smack. Apparently his notion that hiding under the covers would somehow soften the blows was a theory that had been disproved - <em>very<em> disproved.

Jessie sat on top of him in a way that, were he not getting the crap beaten out of him, would probably have made him blush. One of her hands was out of its glove as the glove was currently being used to hit him. She was shrieking something that he chose to try and ignore. It was probably the same thing she'd _been_ shrieking all morning. At least she was emoting again. Was she ever! She was emoting the hell out of him.

He whined as she smacked him again, harder than the last time. Bracing himself for another blow, he opened his eyes when it never came. Despite thinking that it was obviously a trap to get him to let his guard down, he slowly pulled the covers down and peered out around the room he shared with Jessie.

She was laying on her bed with her back to him, arms crossed across her chest. He could almost see the look on her face and feel her eyes glaring through him.

Taking a deep breath, he stood from his bed and groaned softly, wondering how one stupid glove could hurt so much. He sat down on the edge of her bed, as far away from her as he could get. Only able to see half of her face, he could still tell that his assumption about her glowering had been dead-on. Did he know her or what?

James swallowed hard and ducked his head, the safety and security his hair had provided for him through the years not quite making the cut at the moment. "I - I'm sorry. I know I should have talked to you about it first -"

"No _shit_."

He sighed and turned his body away from her, looking into his lap. "You were scaring me. I didn't know what else to do."

Jessie snorted, hugging herself tighter. "There's a shock."

"Jessie, please...I - I know that whole business with those three -"

She shot up and looked at him, her glare becoming colder. "What business?"

"You know...when that guy grabbed you and -"

"And then I killed all of them so problem solved."

He shook his head and dared to look at her, immediately wishing he hadn't upon seeing her angry face. "That's what I mean. We kill people because we have to get the money for the boss -"

"_Had_ to kill people," she corrected him, "since we have a new mission and all."

"...Right," he said, turning his head away from her again. "We just...didn't have to that time. They were worried about their partner and we already had the money. We could have just run away." Digging his boot into the carpet, he added quietly, "They couldn't turn us in because then they would have to tell Officer Jenny what _they_ were doing, too."

Jessie's glare moved to a spot on her blankets. James wasn't right very often but when he was, he was _dead-on_. She didn't know why she did what she did and never even realized that she had changed to a point where even Meowth was concerned. James being concerned was nothing new, after all. "I suppose maybe I was angry that he assumed I was a pathetic little damsel in distress."

James nodded. "I get that."

She took a deep breath and shut her eyes, letting her hands fall to her sides. "I've spent my whole life trying to prove to people that I'm good enough and tough enough and that I don't need anybody. So when that creep made me feel that way..." Slowly she laid back down and rolled on to her side away from him. "It's not like we haven't been through this before. When I get angry, something bad happens. Hell, even when I'm _happy_ things become confusing."

James frowned and looked at her, daring to scoot a little closer. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged, staring out the tiny window their bedroom had to offer and at the view of a brick wall next door. "It was easier to not feel anything than to have to keep every stupid emotion in check all the time, worried that I might blow up and really hurt somebody I cared about or...or trying not to feel _too_ happy because it always ends up turning sour." She rolled on to her stomach and buried her face in her pillow. "And don't get me started on love."

"So...you acted that way on purpose?"

"Gosh, you're so alert today, James," came the muffled and sarcastic reply.

He frowned more and moved right up next to her, placing a hand on her back. "Why didn't _you_ talk to _me_, then?"

She turned her head to the side and looked up at him. "And say what? 'Sorry about killing those people and my manic mood swings and oh yeah, how fucked up was that time we almost screwed in the alley next to a dead body?'." She rolled her eyes and turned her head back into the pillow. "Please."

"It wasn't _that_...messed up..." James said quietly, pulling his hand away and placing it back in his lap.

"No," she said, rolling on her side to face him and crossing her arms again, "it was extremely messed up." Jessie sighed, saying thoughtfully, "Sometimes I envy people like Cassidy."

James raised both his eyebrows and looked down at her. "What? _You_ envy Cassidy?"

She shrugged. "She can do all that crazy, fucked up stuff and not care because she's too much of a lunatic to realize that it's wrong; or she just doesn't give a shit. Me?" She shut her eyes tightly, clenching her teeth. "I don't care in the moment; but then I realize what I've done and I don't want to feel it."

He lifted a hand to her face and brushed some of her hair away. "I don't think it's...a bad thing, necessarily...to feel things as strongly as you do. You just have to learn to control it, I guess."

Opening her eyes, she frowned. "After all these years, how am I supposed to learn to do _that_? Like I said, it's easier not to feel when you can't feel things the right way in the first place."

He shook his head, laying down next to her and looking into her eyes. "I would rather have my feisty, moody, lovable Jessie any day of the week than a Jessie that's walking around like a zombie." Darting his eyes down, he lowered his voice, "That's why I got us the new assignment. It seems a lot less...violent." He looked up at her again, a small smile on his face. "It could even be fun."

Jessie let out a heavy sigh and rolled on to her other side again, putting her back to him. "You're an idiot." She paused and bit her lip slightly. "I appreciate it, though. I suppose. You being a big idiot, I mean."

James's smile widened as he slid his arms around her and hugged her close from behind, shutting his eyes. "Then I'll always be a big idiot for you!"

She rolled her eyes, the beginnings of a small smile replacing her scowl. "Like you have a choice."

He simply grinned and snuggled closer to her, arms wrapped around her waist and head resting against her shoulder.

She sighed again, looking at their reflection in the window. It was so much easier not to feel anything than it was feeling something incredibly stupid for your best friend.


	16. Preparing for Trouble

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Meowth groaned as he watched Jessie and James roll out their sleeping bags. It was their first night on their new mission - stealing any rare or powerful Pokemon for the boss - and it had suddenly hit the furriest member of the team that his days of curling up in his soft kitty bed were numbered for the time being.<p>

"I tink I got real spoiled wit' havin' a home," he bemoaned.

Jessie rolled her eyes as James tossed Meowth his tiny sleeping bag, nearly smacking him in the head with it. "I think we'd _all_ like to be in a real bed."

James shrugged, stripping off his uniform until only his black shirt and boxers remained. "It's not that bad...at least it's nice out."

Meowth snickered at the Growlithe pattern on James's boxers, pointing at them. "Don't let a real one get close to dat business, Jimmy-boy!"

He frowned and looked down at himself after sitting down on his sleeping bag. "What?" Looking back up at Meowth, he crossed his arms and huffed. "I happen to like Growlithes!"

Jessie snorted, though mostly to herself, slipping out of her bra through her black tank top. She smirked a little, also to herself, recalling the first time she had ever done that in front of James. He had wondered if she was a secret magician and when she smacked him in response, he wanted to know how she did it anyway. Why were boys so obsessed with boobs?

Sitting down cross-legged on her sleeping bag, she reached into it and pulled out the notebook she shared with James. "I think we need to do something to stand out from all the other Pokemon thieves in Kanto."

James and Meowth (who had finally managed to unroll his sleeping bag) exchanged glances. "What do you mean?" James asked.

Jessie grinned, pulling a pen out from the spiral binding of the worn old notebook. "I don't know. Something different. Like...like a catchphrase!"

"Ain't nobody gonna take us seriously if we're runnin' around recitin' poetry all da time!" Meowth protested.

"_Or_," she said, pointing at him with the pen, "would the mere mention of our catchphrase strike fear into the hearts and minds of Pokemon trainers everywhere?"

James nodded vigorously in agreement, his grin matching his partner's. "I like that! While everybody's scared and running around, trying to escape our villainy, we use it to our advantage and steal as many Pokemon as possible!"

"See? James gets it."

"James don't get why da light goes away in da fridge when he closes da door."

He crossed his arms and frowned. "Well, it's suspicious! That's all I'm saying!"

"It's electricity, ya dummy!"

"_This_ coming from you? Who can't figure out that we're the ones controlling that _mysterious_ light you chase?" Mimicking Meowth, he said, "It's a flashlight, ya dummy!"

Meowth's face fell and he slumped down against his sleeping bag. "Dat...dat ain't true...is it, Jess?"

"No, of course it isn't true." Shooting James a scolding look, she then tapped the pen against her chin. "Let's see...what should our catchphrase be..."

After scowling at Meowth for getting him in trouble, James suggested, "It should describe us. What we stand for!"

Jessie nodded in agreement, readying to write in the notebook but quickly stopping herself. She looked up at James and Meowth. "So...what _do_ we stand for?"

Both James and Meowth opened their mouths to answer but, like Jessie, found that they had no real idea what that answer might be.

The trio sat in thoughtful silence, the only noise other than the wild Pokemon around them belonging to the tapping of Jessie's pen.

Suddenly, Meowth shouted excitedly, "Rare Pokemon!" causing Jessie and James to jump. "Ya know...like uh...we're da bad guys and we're here to take ya Pokemon, so _hand 'em over_!"

"That's not a very good catchphrase," James said.

"Dat ain't da catchphrase! It's what we stand for!"

"Do we really want to reveal that right away?" Jessie asked. "Maybe something a little more subtle...like 'surrender now' or something."

"Ooh," James murmured, grinning. "I like that!"

Meowth crossed his arms and frowned in thought. "We should give 'em a choice - 'surrender now or'..."

The team became quiet once again, trying to come up with a consequence that was both menacing _and_ not beyond their capabilities to make good on.

James sighed and laid down on his sleeping bag, putting his arms behind his head. Stars dotted the night sky, their light made even brighter by the new moon. The fire they had built when first setting up camp was fizzling out, a few small sparks away from disappearing completely.

Jessie blew some hair out of her face and went to the basket of the balloon, digging around for a few seconds before pulling out a flashlight and returning to her bag, turning it on.

Watching the sky, deep in thought, James blinked and sat up on his elbows as a shooting star flew by. His eyes widened and he scrambled up, slipping several times on the fabric of his sleeping bag before standing and rushing over to Jessie, joining her. "Give me that!"

Raising an eyebrow, Jessie handed him the notebook and pen. She leaned over his shoulder with the flashlight as he began to scribble wildly, his tongue sticking out of his mouth slightly as it usually did when he was focused on something. When she tried to put her chin on his shoulder to see what he was writing, he made a face and hunched over the page, blocking out both Jessie and the flashlight.

"There!" he said triumphantly after a few more minutes, holding the notebook out in front of his face before handing it to Jessie. "We're in Team _Rocket_, right? So we should go with a space theme!"

Jessie scanned the page. "These are all just random words." She frowned and smacked him in the side with the notebook. "I thought you were writing our whole thing!"

"What?" James said, wincing at the blow. "Why would I do that? We're brainstorming!"

Meowth groaned the way he had upon realizing their sleeping situation, falling back on to his sleeping bag. "Hopeless. He's hopeless."

Scanning the page again, Jessie put up a finger to silence Meowth. "Now, wait a second..."

James grinned, watching as the wheels turned in her head. She was always beautiful to him but when she was formulating a plan, she was just plain old cute. Her forehead wrinkled as well as her nose, her lips coming together to form the most perfect pout he could ever imagine.

Glancing over at Meowth, who was still on his back and looking up at the sky, James bit his lip and wondered if he could get away with kissing that pout quickly - done before she even knew what had happened...

Rolling over on to his side to face them, Meowth propped his head up on his paw. "Youse two tryin' to write dis ting is double trouble if ya ask Meowth."

Jessie blinked, staring at their Pokemon partner and elbowing James in the side and out of his happy thoughts. "Say that again," she commanded.

"What? Dat youse two tryin' to write someting is double trouble?"

James blinked now as well, meeting Jessie's excited look when she turned her head to him. The two Rockets clasped their hands together and squeezed, Jessie squealing while James giggled.

It was Meowth's turn to blink now. "Have youse two finally lost it?"

Ignoring the third member of their trio, Jessie grinned at James. "So, double trouble time?"

He nodded, returning her wide grin. "Sounds great to me, Jess."

Squealing again, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. James slid his arms around her waist and held her close, a blush forming on his cheeks as he thought about his earlier moment of weakness.

Crawling in to his sleeping bag, Meowth zipped himself inside, stating in a muffled voice, "I created a monster."

* * *

><p>There were several ways to go about doing it, Miyamoto thought to herself.<p>

She sat outside Giovanni's office at "Matori"'s desk, swiveling back and forth in her chair. Tapping the piece of paper against her cheek, she wondered which of the many options that popped into her head almost immediately would be the most horrifying for him. Considering that it was Giovanni, simply finding out about it would likely be more than enough to send him into a sputtering, red-faced string of obscenities.

She stood up and went to the door, opening it a crack and peering inside. Giovanni sat in his chair with his back to her, yelling into the phone about something so incredibly over her head, it made her eyes cross. She slipped inside his office and shut the door quietly behind her, leaning back against it and gripping the paper tightly in her hand.

Well aware that her reaction was not the most sane, Miyamoto couldn't help but think that maybe there was a reason for that fact. She couldn't remember the last time they had spent any kind of real time together, after all. He was so wrapped up in himself and his "project" that the only time she ever saw him now was at work. It was like she really _had_ become just his secretary.

It seemed that since Jessie had joined Team Rocket, their relationship was more strained than usual. They weren't even having angry sex - something that truly disturbed her since that was his favorite kind. They clashed on too many things now; where once she sat back and let him do his thing, now she had to butt her head in and make sure he wasn't tormenting Jessie and her friends. He'd spat at her several times that Team Rocket wasn't just about their daughter and he had other things to do to keep the company going - not that she bought it for a second.

He knew where she was at all times, being the person that handed out the assignments. He had even gone so far as to send a couple of grunts out after them and report back anything that struck them as odd or unprofessional. He was wringing his hands, just waiting for any excuse to ruin that poor, sweet boy and she wanted to throttle him for it.

Even though they _did_ love each other in their own way, Miyamoto knew that her life with Giovanni wasn't quite that of the white picket fence, 2.5 kids and an Arcanine. Why did their daughter have to endure the same fate? She could tell from miles away, only through a few photographs, that Jessie and James were crazy about each other and had been since they first met; what about that was so incredibly awful that Giovanni wanted to tear it down mid-construction?

Sometimes she was glad that Jessie had no idea who her boss really was. She could only imagine how overboard Giovanni would go in protecting her as he saw fit if she were calling him "Daddy" and batting her big, blue eyes at him the way she had when she was a little girl.

Brought out of her thoughts by Giovanni clearing his throat, she blinked at him and remembered why she was there in the first place.

He raised an eyebrow as she casually strolled to his desk, pulling the paper from behind her back and fanning herself with it. "And that is?"

Miyamoto let out a heavy, faux-thoughtful sigh. "Do you know a..." She pretended to look at the paper to refresh her memory even though the name had been in her head since she first read the note. "...Delia Ketchum?" She returned his raised brow with one of her own.

Giovanni narrowed his eyes at her, reaching for the paper but not quite being fast enough, Miyamoto backing up and hiding it behind her back again. "I _knew_ a _Delia_."

"Never got her last name, huh?"

He snorted, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, suddenly trying to feign disinterest. "I'm sure it wasn't fucking _Ketchum_ of all things."

Miyamoto opened the note and once again pretended to scan down its contents. "She must have gotten married, then." She couldn't help the smirk that slowly spread across her lips, like a Spinarak watching and waiting for its prey to fall in its web. Leaning over the desk, she dropped the paper in front of him and turned on her heel, going to the door. She stopped, her hand on the knob, and looked back at him, her voice sweet as syrup, "Congratulations, Daddy."

He frowned as she slammed the door behind her, quickly looking at the letter for himself. It took him a few read-throughs to fully comprehend what it said and even then, it seemed unreal. The thought crossed his mind briefly that Miyamoto was screwing with him but even he knew that she wouldn't stoop that low. And how would she have even known about Delia to pull it off?

Rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes, he reached over and pushed the intercom button on his phone, buzzing Miyamoto from the lobby.

She walked in and stood in front of him, arms crossed. "_Really_, Giovanni?"

"I didn't know," he grumbled back to her.

"Oh, neat. So that makes it all better, I guess."

Shooting a glare up at her, he placed his hands on his desk and slowly stood up, using it to keep his suddenly wobbly balance. "Do you know _why_ I left her?"

Miyamoto shrugged. "You're an asshole?"

In a split-second his hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck, tugging her against the desk. "I left because I was told that you were missing and presumed dead." He let go of her and sat back down, putting his head in his hands. "If only."

Rubbing her neck, she averted her gaze from him, guilt suddenly washing over her. It wasn't something that happened very often and she hated very second of it. "You obviously liked this girl...why ditch her to try and find _me_?"

"That would be the million dollar question, now, wouldn't it?"

She crossed her arms and swallowed hard, turning her head away from him. "Once you found me, you could have gone back to her."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Miyamoto. I'm sure by that time Cyrus wouldn't have told Delia what a huge...what is it, you said? Ah, right. _Asshole_ I was. No, not Cyrus."

"You would have at least given her some closure...and yourself, for that matter."

Giovanni shook his head and looked away from her now himself. "I enjoyed her company but I knew it wasn't going to work. She was too sweet and naïve. At times I actually _did_ feel bad for what I was doing." He sighed heavily, glancing at his desk to the paper. "More than that, I knew that if I walked away from her at any given moment, I wouldn't think about her half as much as I would've thought about you if I had chosen her."

Miyamoto jerked her head back to look at him. "What?"

Standing and walking around to the front of his desk, he stopped in front of her. "You, Miyamoto." He lifted his hands and placed them on her cheeks, looking into her teal eyes. His voice low, almost resembling that of his younger, less-corrupt self, he said, "It's always been you." He pulled her face to his and kissed her in a way that he couldn't truly remember himself ever having been capable of.

Her eyes widened and she stood there, waiting for the punchline or the other shoe to drop. Darting her eyes around the office, she shrugged to herself and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him against her and returning his kiss passionately.

Neither one knew how but at some point they had made their way to the couch and fell on top of it in a tangled mess. It was like they had entered a time rift and they were back to being barely twenty again: the spoiled brat boy and the fiery bitch going at it in Madame Boss's office.

Unlike their youth, however, they were interrupted when both Miyamoto's phone out front and Giovanni's began to ring. She groaned, starting to roll out from underneath him but was stopped when he grabbed her and pulled her back to him.

"Let it go," he said breathlessly, kissing down her neck and trying to ignore the light purple bruise that was starting to form from his earlier assault.

Raising an eyebrow at him, she tackled him back on to the couch and straddled him, smirking slightly. "Priorities," she said with a firm nod.

He watched her undo his pants and nodded as well, licking his lips. "They're straight, wouldn't you say?"

She continued to nod, tugging his pants down and pressing herself against him. "Rigid, even."

Running his hands up her thighs, he returned her smirk, pulling down her panties. "Still just as big a slut as always."

"Why are you still talking?"

* * *

><p>Jessie and James walked out of the elevator, her arm linked with his, strutting as if they knew something that everyone else didn't and weren't about to share.<p>

In actuality, they had made a big drop-off of Pokemon to the boss and were feeling the tiniest bit smug. If the boss thought that giving them an easier assignment was going to deter them from becoming the best Rockets of all-time, they had proved him wrong.

Meowth opted to check in with Mondo and then take full advantage of his warm bed while they were indoors for once. James offered to get Jessie something sweet and fattening at the cafeteria and then swore not to tell a soul that she actually ate it.

They were making their way there when their path was blocked by two familiar faces, who also stopped upon seeing their rivals. The two pairs glared at each other, James sliding his arm around Jessie's waist should she decide to finish what she had started.

It was the first time since their altercation that Jessie, James, Butch, and Cassidy saw each other. If it were possible, Cassidy looked even more trashy than before, Jessie thought. Butch's glare was directed more at James's arm around Jessie's waist. Cassidy's glare was accented by a glossy pink smirk. James hated the situation entirely.

"Oh, look who it is, Betch," Cassidy said in mock-surprise. "Jessie-Jess, darling..." She turned her tone from mocking to over-the-top pitying. "Are you okay? We all heard about your tragic mental breakdown and have been just worried to pieces!"

Jessie growled as James slid his other arm around her waist, anticipating another round of fury swipes at Cassidy's face. "I didn't have a mental breakdown."

"Really? Because from what I hear, that's why you got demoted to the short bus of assignments."

"The boss wanted to keep us on but we _chose_ to take on something different," she replied. "You can only handle so many corpses before the whole thing loses a bit of its glamor."

Cassidy looked at Butch, who was still shooting daggers at James. Quickly rolling her eyes, she returned her attention to Jessie. "Well, I suppose we should thank you, then."

"Why's that?" James asked, frowning.

"We were promoted to _your_ job." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Jessie. "Wild, isn't it?"

Thankful that he had thought ahead to get a grip on Jessie, James held her tightly as she tried to squirm from his arms. "You're lying!"

Cassidy shook her head. "You poor idiots never even left Viridian, did you? Let alone Kanto." Brushing non-existent dust from her uniform, she continued, "Benny and I are on our way to Johto to get rid of someone for the boss."

"You're full of shit!" Jessie yelled, still struggling against James.

"Some guy...what was his name?" she asked Butch, kicking him in the shin.

"_Fuck_!" He looked away from Jessie and James at last and rubbed his shin, turning his glare to his partner. "Yeah. Name's Ketchup or something. Guy's been on a journey for six years or so. Guess he stole something from the boss and now he can't get it back, so he gets to swim with the Magikarp."

"I wonder what he stole..." James mused.

Breathing heavily, Jessie finally began to calm down. "He probably gave it to you so you would be out of his hair for a while. You get old very quickly, _Cass_," she said and then added, "Like a corpse."

Cassidy simply laughed, starting off past Jessie and James and making a point to hit her former roommate in the shoulder with her own as she passed. "Keep telling yourself that!" She stopped and turned back around, her laugh turning into a scowl. "_Birch_!" she shrieked.

Giving Jessie and James one more cold stare, Butch joined his partner, the ever-obedient slave. Jessie all but snarled at the duo as they started for the front door.

James thought quickly, refusing to let them get the last word for Jessie's sake. "Well...we have a motto and you don't!"

Cassidy could be heard laughing out the doors and even down the street as Jessie groaned, slumping against her partner. "You should have let me maul her."

"Next time."

* * *

><p>"If ya knew how to use a phone, we wouldn't be in dis situation!" Meowth growled, rubbing his sore elbow.<p>

James glared at him from his spot on the ground. "I told you, the boss didn't answer!"

"Den we shoulda waited!"

"Where was all of this push-back when we were busting into that Pokemon Center, huh?"

"I got 20/20 hindsight vision!"

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, wincing slightly at the movement and the pain it caused. Looking over to Jessie, he sighed. It hadn't just been a failure but a _spectacular_ one to boot. They hadn't ever failed a mission in...well, he couldn't recall a time that they ever actually _did_ completely blow something the way they did this. Worry began to bubble up inside him again, wondering what was going through his partner's mind.

She sat on a rock a few feet from James and Meowth, resting her chin in her hands, brow furrowed in thought. James thought she would be pitching a fit that her hair looked a mess and her uniform was singed, her face and legs scraped up from their unceremonious landing. Instead, she said nothing and stared at a hollow tree trunk across the way.

James bit his lip and stood, making a face as pain shot through his back. He went over to Jessie and knelt next to her. "Hey, are you okay?"

Jessie looked at him and smiled slightly. "Sure. Just thinking."

"About tonight?" he cautiously asked.

She nodded and looked up at the sky, her smile growing. "We need to call the boss and tell him what's going on."

James blinked and glanced back at Meowth, who shrugged and then groaned in pain, falling back against the ground. "Tell him we failed?"

Turning to look at him again, she frowned and shook her head. "About that Pikachu. I thought we were going to catch it and bring it to the boss since it's so powerful."

"Oh. Right." He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I had...sort of forgotten about that once we -"

"Heh. Blasted off," Meowth offered, still unmoving on the ground.

James frowned at him, opening his mouth to yell at him for making light of the situation when he heard Jessie laugh softly. "Right. The Rockets blasting off. That's good!"

He shifted against the ground, sitting on his back-end and watching as Jessie tried to run her fingers through her snarled hair. "What if it's only powerful because it was sitting on that bike and being mega-charged? I mean...who would give a little kid a Pikachu that powerful?"

"Well we'll obviously test it and make sure it wasn't a fluke before bringing it to the boss."

"'Sides," Meowth said, finally sitting up, "Pikachu can store energy like dat real good in dose cheeks." Shrugging, he continued, "Coulda been it _was_ just a normal Pikachu...den it got all dis energy and got super-pumped up!"

"I think it's more likely that it released all of its energy," James said flatly, looking down at his own burnt and dirty uniform.

"What if it hasn't?" Jessie asked. "Come on, James...it's just a twerpy newbie trainer. How hard could it _possibly_ be to steal his Pokemon?"

Meowth nodded in agreement. "It won't have da luxury of gettin' all dose other Pikachu's help, neither!"

She smiled and looked down at James, using her thumb to brush some dirt from his cheek. "What do you say?"

"...All right. Let's do it." Like he even had a choice after she'd touched him and made him nearly melt right into the ground below.

Running over to his partners, Meowth grinned his toothy grin that was saved for very special, devious occasions. "Den let's get dis show on da road!"


	17. Family Values

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Giovanni hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, dropping one hand and lovingly scratching behind his Persian's ears. Maybe all the shit he had to go through with his mother, Miyamoto, Cyrus, and Delia hadn't been in vain and this extraordinary turn of events was his long-overdue reward.<p>

He couldn't help the self-satisfied smirk on his face when Miyamoto walked in after being buzzed on the intercom. She raised an eyebrow, making her way over to him and hopping up on the edge of his desk. "Well, that look is never good."

"'Never' is such a strong word, Miyamoto..." he said, reaching for her and tugging her toward him. "Never say never, after all."

She smirked as well, facing him while still sitting on the edge of the desk. "What has you in such a rare mood?"

Pulling his chair close to the desk, his smirk grew as he slid his arms underneath her, grabbing her and jerking her body into his lap. He rested his head back against the chair as she made herself comfortable straddling him. "Something truly amazing has happened."

Miyamoto slid her arms around his neck and tilted her head to the side expectantly. "Well? You can't just leave me in suspense, here."

He laughed, darting his eyes to meet hers. "I just spoke to our daughter and her team."

She sighed, dropping her arms. "What did you do?"

"Miyamoto, I'm hurt," he said, feigning shocked sadness in his eyes. "I haven't done anything."

"Why do I not believe you?" She crossed her arms and felt a small twinge of happiness when Persian slinked its way out from under Giovanni's desk, its golden eyes glaring at her for taking away its master's attention.

Ignoring her question, he continued, "Apparently they ran in to some trouble last night coming back in to town. They tried to steal from the Pokemon Center but were...unable to execute their plans."

Miyamoto's eyes widened and she leaned forward. "Shit, wasn't that place blown up last night?"

Giovanni nodded, quickly putting her at ease. "Jessie's fine. A few scratches but I imagine she's been through worse."

She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck again and eying him warily. "Go on, then."

"It would seem that the cause of the explosion was -" He stopped abruptly to shake his head and laugh slightly. "A _Pikachu_."

Miyamoto snorted in amusement. "Are we sure they aren't concussed?"

"The best part is yet to come," he said, putting his finger against her lips. "This Pikachu's young trainer hampered their efforts." Removing his finger, he smirked again, pulling her against him closely. "Would you like to know the name of that trainer?"

Still wary, she nodded slightly. "Spill."

Giovanni leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers, murmuring, "Ash. And he happens to be from Pallet Town."

Miyamoto jerked away from him, her eyes wide. "You aren't serious. Did they get a last name?"

"Why do we need a last name? How many Ashes from Pallet Town could there be? Ones that only just started on their journey, at that."

She sighed, putting her hands on his chest and looking into his eyes. Softly, she asked, "What did you do, Giovanni?"

His smirk melted into a smile. "They wanted my permission to steal the Pikachu because it was so strong. I, of course, gave them my full support."

"So, wait a minute," she said, putting a hand to her forehead, "you're sending our daughter out to spy on her half-brother and steal his Pokemon?"

"It kills two Pidgey with one rock throw," he replied. "They'll be together. Jessie will call with updates and I'll know what he's up to; that call will also let me know what Jessie and her team are up to." He reached forward and took her hand, brushing his lips against her fingers. "I don't have to do a damn thing."

"And what happens when they capture the Pikachu?"

Giovanni shrugged, entwining his fingers with hers. "The way she spoke about this child -"

"_Your_ child," she interjected.

He squeezed her fingers tightly, making her wince and try to pull away from his grasp. "_Yes_. I'm well aware." Dropping her hand, he continued, "He's very stubborn...rash about things. Acts in the moment and doesn't think about the consequences that may result from it."

Miyamoto rubbed her fingers, muttering, "Sounds familiar."

"If Team Rocket has possession of his Pokemon, there's a very good chance he may come here himself to try and get them back."

"And you...want this?"

He leaned forward in his chair, getting his face as close to hers as possible without touching. "I _want_ to open his eyes to what Team Rocket has to offer. I _want_ him and Jessie together under this roof."

She shook her head and glanced down at their laps. "You have some serious control issues. It reminds me of your mother."

His eyes grew cold, narrowing at the woman in front of him but not truly seeing past the sudden swell of rage in his body. "Don't _ever_," he growled, grabbing her by the arm and pulling roughly, "compare me to my mother."

She glared back at him, clenching her teeth in pain as his fingers dug into her arm. "Then stop acting like her."

Suddenly he chuckled, bitterly, and used his grasp on her arm to fling her off of him and on to the floor. He got out of his chair and knelt next to her as she rubbed her arm and avoided his gaze. "If I act so much like her, Miyamoto," he began, grabbing her by the hair and tugging her kicking and cursing body to a spot on the floor, "then I suppose if I killed you right here on the very spot where I choked the very last breath from her wretched body, you wouldn't be surprised, would you?" He let go of her hair, causing her head to hit the floor. "And what's life without a few surprises along the way?"

Miyamoto gritted her teeth as she watched him return to his chair, his Persian haughtily taking its usual spot next to him. "I truly hope that boy got more of his mother's attributes than yours."

He was starting to lose his temper, his usual gentle caress of his Pokemon now rough, eliciting low "mew"s from it. His eyes scanned the office quickly, wondering if there was anything around to shut her up without the risk of another mess on his rug.

He was jarred out of his thoughts by the phone ringing, his eyes slowly moving to look at Miyamoto, still on the floor, glaring back at him. "You seem a bit busy at the moment, Matori. I'll take this myself." He picked up the phone and put his hand over the receiver. "_Alone_."

Slowly Miyamoto stood, putting a hand to her now-throbbing head. She never took her eyes off of him as she made her way to the door, desperately trying to ignore the fear that was beginning to grow inside of her. There was only one other time she had felt fear like that and memories of the occasion only made her worry more about what Giovanni was becoming.

Once the door shut behind her, Giovanni turned his attention back to his call, turning on the video capabilities and smirking at the sight of Butch and Cassidy on the screen. "Can I assume that you've completed your mission?"

Cassidy snorted. "It was almost too easy, sir."

"In this case, too easy is preferable to too difficult. Did you give him my message?"

Butch nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I'd say he went completely pale and was totally shocked but that could have just been the loss of blood," Cassidy added.

His smirk broadened and he leaned forward toward the video phone. "Did you prolong it?"

"As long as we could, sir," Cassidy replied and then rolled her eyes. "He was a wimp. It didn't take much to off him, really."

"We made sure that he was still showing small signs of life before dumping him the water, though, sir."

"And where did you dump the body?"

She crossed her arms, her smirk reflecting her boss's. "The Lake of Rage."

"If anyone happens to find him - which is doubtful, sir - they'll likely think it was a Gyarados attack."

Giovanni raised his eyebrows and leaned back against his chair again. "Impressive. I'm pleasantly surprised."

"We hope that you'll continue to trust us with these very delicate missions, sir," Cassidy smiled sweetly.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that. In addition to your bonus, I'm giving you a raise." He lifted a hand to the phone. "Don't make me regret it." With those final words of warning, the call was over.

* * *

><p>James grinned to himself, watching as Jessie stripped down to her tank top and panties, not concerned with being caught and smacked in the head for once. She had been totally and completely jealous at the thought of another girl trying to take him for herself; that girl may have been a ghost and may have ended up being only a Gastly, but the flash of anger in her eyes was as real as could be.<p>

She sat on her sleeping bag with her back to him, brushing her hair and trying to ignore the eyes she felt on her. Hadn't she been clear enough? Did he need her to shout it in his ear through a mega-phone? Desperate girls gave most women a bad name; she wanted to make her _own_ bad name for herself, not be lumped in with a bunch of pathetic, whiny losers.

Setting her brush back in her growing toiletry bag, she bit her lip, cursing how well James knew her. She could just see the goofy grin on his face now, teasing her for getting so upset without having to say a word. Taking a deep breath, she snuggled into her sleeping bag, still ignoring her partner, and pretended to be asleep. She listened carefully for any sign that James was up to something but only heard the nocturnal wild Pokemon and Meowth's snoring. Waiting a few minutes more, she rolled over on to her other side and scowled at James, that grin she had so dreaded plastered across his face. "What," she stated, still scowling at him.

He got on his knees and grabbed his sleeping bag, tugging it next to her and getting inside as well. "You were so jealous," he whispered.

Jessie could feel her face becoming hotter and she ducked her head toward her sleeping bag, curling up inside. "You're deluded."

Resting his head on his hand, he continued and made Jessie wish all she had to deal with was his teasing grin, "_You_ didn't want me to go with that girl!"

Jerking her head up, she narrowed her eyes at him. "It wasn't a girl and I don't care what you do."

"You _thought_ it was a girl." Did he have a death wish? Apparently so, because he added, "She wasn't prettier than you or anything."

"I should hope not, seeing as she _wasn't real_."

He leaned forward, his head resting next to hers on her sleeping bag. Even her disgruntled face and attitude weren't enough to bring him down. Not tonight. "If I wasn't a mindless zombie, I wouldn't have looked twice at her."

"You're still mindless," she said, moving to roll back over but freezing at his hand on her hip. "I will break it, James. So help me..."

Licking his lips, he swallowed hard and lowered his gaze, shy uncertainty suddenly washing over him. "You don't have to worry. That's all."

"Great. Thanks. Now I can sleep," she retorted dryly, shoving his hand away from her and putting her back to him once again. "_Goodnight, James_."

James let out a soft sigh and laid down, rolling over to put his back to her as well. "Night, Jessie."

Jessie squeezed her eyes shut, the thumping of her heart against her chest and the echo in her ears merely symptoms of a terrible cardiological disease and not a result of how close their faces had been, one tilt of the head away from her lips brushing against his.

Her eyes shot open at the mental imagery and she glared in to the dark forest. Maybe she was right on both accounts: her disease was having feelings that she shouldn't - _couldn't_ - have.

* * *

><p>Miyamoto walked into Giovanni's office and went up to him at his desk, thrusting a manilla folder under his nose. "Estimates."<p>

He grabbed the folder from her and leaned back, opening it and scanning through the pages, shaking his head in disbelief. Tossing the folder back on to his desk, he looked up at her through hooded eyes. "You must be positively giddy."

She shrugged. "You don't give a shit when two of your kids are presumed dead - one during a mission that _you_, personally, assigned - and now karma's biting you in the ass."

Snorting in both amusement and annoyance, he rose from his chair and went over to the bar. "Irony as well." He poured himself a drink and darted a look in her direction, offering her an empty glass. "Do you know how long it took me to perfect that fucking theme park?"

She rolled her eyes and went over to him, grabbing the glass and watching as he poured. "Actually, I do. I've been here the whole time. Remember?"

"How could I forget," he retorted, taking a long sip of his own drink.

"Why would you even build a theme park like that? There are real Pokemon all around us every day...who the hell would want to interact with them when they're ten times their actual size?" She took a brief swig of hers and added, "And that fucking roller-coaster is a death trap. I told you to hire _actual_ carpenters and not leave it up to the grunts."

"Yes, yes," Giovanni said blandly, staring out the window to the bustling town below, "you're right about everything. If you say two plus two equals five then it _must_ be true."

Downing her drink quickly, she slammed the glass down on the bar in front of him. "You're so fucking lucky she's alive. If anything had happened to her on that hair-brained mission -"

"But nothing did, did it?" he said cooly, darting his eyes to the side to look at her for a moment. "Apparently she takes after you in that regard."

Miyamoto shook her head, laughing slightly as she turned away from him and started for the door. "All the trouble you went to trying to keep her safe and keep tabs on her...and you didn't shed a single tear when that wreath hit the water." She clenched her teeth as she opened the door. "It should have been you and you should have _actually _drowned."


	18. Defining Royalty

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>James made a face, pulling his arm closer to inspect the gash that throbbed and burned against his skin. He looked over to Jessie and watched with interest as she dug around in the balloon basket for the first aid kit. He smiled slightly, hearing her curse and threaten Meowth with feline-specific bodily harm, assuming he was the one that misplaced the thing. Lowering his gaze, he shifted uncomfortably against the grass.<p>

Jessibelle and her whip hadn't changed much and the resulting welts and cuts felt so familiar, it was like putting on a painful old sweater. He had tried to keep his injury a secret, not wanting to worry Jessie or - worse yet - prompt her to make good on that promise she made all those years ago and rush off to punch Jessibelle in the face. James couldn't help but smile slightly at the thought of his best friend knocking that psycho out; and then when she woke up, she would shriek and squeal and cry at her busted face. After everything she had done to him, fantasizing about giving her a broken nose was truly the very least he could do.

He blinked himself out of his thoughts at the sudden silence that enveloped them. Jessie had succeeded in her quest and was placated for the time being, walking over to him and sitting down across from him, opening the kit.

He shifted again and winced, a welt across his lower back starting to become hot, as if a Pokemon were using flamethrower against him. Jessie only caught the injury on his arm and that was due to the fact that it was starting to bleed through his uniform as they fled to their freedom. She was angry enough about the one wound; telling her about the other would likely result in a rage that would put a Kangaskhan to shame.

It was nice to have someone care, though. They had often bandaged each other up after nasty blast offs before but to James, this was profoundly different. She had been the first person to see the awful scars his childhood left on his back and now she was the first person to tend to fresh abuse. He always had to tend to his own abrasions and, being that they were hard to reach - especially while in agonizing pain - he always assumed that his lack of care was what made the scars so awful. If anyone could keep new scars from forming, it was Jessie.

Antiseptic in one hand, gauze in the other, she sat on her knees and looked at him expectantly. He glanced around before looking back at her, confused. "What is it?"

"Shirt. Off."

James was certain he'd turned a similar color as his gash, ducking his head and trying to hide again as if he were back in school. "Jessie...you know I can't."

Exasperated already, she put the items down and leaned forward, placing her hands on his cheeks and lifting his face to look at hers. "I won't be able to eat or sleep or even perform the motto properly unless I take care of this and make sure that she didn't hurt you anywhere else."

He groaned, tilting his head to side against her hand. "Don't say things like that..."

Pressing her forehead to his, she smiled slightly. His eyes had the same uncertainty and fear she remembered from Pokemon Tech. She couldn't remember the last time they looked that way. Her smile faded, realizing just how much of an impact the abuse he had to endure as a kid still had on him. "Meowth is still chasing after us, whining I'm sure. It's just you and me," she said softly.

He tried to pull his head away from her but she held him close. He shook his head against her grip and squeezed his eyes shut. "Jessie, please..." he said miserably.

She pulled back a bit after planting a soft kiss on his forehead and brushing some of his hair out of his face. "Okay, but you'll have to hold your sleeve up."

James nodded, swallowing hard and doing as he was told, eyes still shut. Jessie put some antiseptic on a piece of gauze and bit her lip, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "This is really, _really_ going to suck."

He nodded again and took a deep breath, bracing himself for the harsh sting that he had come to know too well.

Gently, Jessie dabbed at his arm, glancing at him every time she heard him take a sharp breath through gritted teeth. Repeating the process a few times over, she was satisfied with it and moved her hand down to take his. "Worst part's over." Brushing her thumb against the back of his hand, she smiled at him. "I don't think I would've been that brave...or quiet."

"Definitely not quiet," he replied, face still scrunched up in lingering pain.

"Hey!" she retorted, gently hitting him in the stomach and staring at her hand immediately after, making a fist and ready to punch herself in the gut at what an awful person she was. Like the guy hadn't been abused enough for one lifetime and here she was, hurting him just like -

Quickly she lowered her head, thankful that James had kept his eyes shut. She said nothing as she bandaged his arm through blurred, teary vision. Meowth was right - she _was_ just like Jessibelle. Pulling back from him, she gathered the soiled supplies and tried to keep her voice normal, "Done."

James opened his eyes and looked at his arm, a small smile coming across his features. "Look at that. You could be a nurse!"

Jessie simply nodded and replied with a quiet "mmhmm."

He looked up at her to express his gratitude and frowned as she cleaned up everything, pieces of hair falling over her face. She couldn't expect to fool him with the very tactic he'd perfected.

The setting sun cast a dark shadow across her face, hair unnecessary to obscure the offending emotions ready to burst just underneath.

"Jessie?"

Again she didn't truly reply, "hm?" the only noise she could manage to get out without crumbling. This was about James and taking care of him the way she should have been all along. She knew how he felt about his family and still she demanded he honor his so-called commitment to that witch just so they could actually have some extra money for once. She wasn't the most considerate person in the world but this had to be the most selfish thing she had done to date. What was wrong with her?

She jumped when his hand tilted her chin up and her heart sank at the sight of his confused and concerned face. At that moment she wanted to crawl into one of their patented holes and never emerge.

"Why are you so upset?" he asked softly, hand moving to rest against her cheek.

"I'm not," she lied, badly at that.

James swallowed hard, lowering his hand and sitting back on his heels, fighting back a wince at his sore back. "I - I didn't mean...If I'd known that taking care of me would make you this upset -"

"Shut up, James," she interrupted, voice cracking when she spoke his name.

"Jessie, please...what is it? I can help."

Slowly she shut her eyes, letting her tears run. She deserved to feel the way she did - and then some. If she could take all the pain he was in and put it on herself, she would do it so fast that heads would spin. She opened her eyes again and looked up at him through frizzy strands of magenta hair. "I'm just like her," she whispered.

James frowned, not getting the reference at first; once he did, his eyes grew wide and he sat up on his knees, putting his hands on her cheeks the way she had with him, lifting her head up. "Jess, no...no, you're nothing like her."

She smiled up at him sadly, her tears running down his hands. "Don't be a dummy. I hit you all the time. I've left bruises. I -"

"This is different," he interjected, his voice and face both stern. "You don't do those things to try and change me and make me into what _you_ want and not what I really am. You don't do it out of malice or because you get a sick thrill out of it." James lowered his hands, returning her small, sad smile. "They're just love taps."

"James..." she murmured before finally breaking down, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face against his shoulder.

Once again fighting back a reflex to the pain that seared across his back, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her close. "It's okay, Jessie," he said soothingly, stroking her hair. "I promise it's okay."

She hung on him limply, face still buried against his shirt. She hadn't cried that way in what seemed like eons - certainly not since becoming an agent. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeated before pulling back from him slightly and daring to look back into his eyes. The fear was gone but the uncertainty remained. "I cannot believe I made this about me."

James smiled again, pressing his forehead against hers, mimicking her earlier gesture. "You didn't."

Jessie bit her lip, her eyes still locked on his. "Why didn't you tell me she was your fiancée? Or that you were rich?"

He shrugged, nuzzling her gently. "I try to forget about Jessibelle at every turn, any way I can. As for the money..." he trailed off, his reasoning likely to only make her feel worse.

"Tell me," she urged.

"I - I don't think of you as one of these people...I swear I don't, Jessie." He took her hands in his. "I wanted people to like me for me and not for my money." Glancing down at their hands, fingers intertwined, he said quietly, "You're the only person that ever liked me at all."

She nuzzled him back, tears falling now for him more than herself. "Good. Good, because I don't like sharing." She smiled slightly, raising an eyebrow. "And let's be honest - I'm definitely one of those people."

James laughed softly and shook his head. "If you were, I'd be married right about now."

She shuddered at the thought of him spending one more minute with that depraved freak, let alone the rest of his life. "I never really believed that you had chosen the lap of luxury over me...and Meowth," she added quickly.

"_You'd_ be the dummy if you did."

Jessie wiped her cheeks and laughed at herself, unsure whether she was blushing or her face was still warm from crying. "Look what you did. I'm supposed to be taking care of you and you ended up taking care of me. Like always."

James remained quiet, watching as she began to put away the medical gear again. She was right - for all the times he kept charging at the walls she put up, trying desperately to break through, he had been just as stubborn to accept help as she was. His reasons were different - wanting to protect her from anything negative and worrying about her feelings and well-being miles before his own - but the result remained the same.

His hand grabbed hers and stopped her from closing the first aid kit. She looked at him quizzically as he took a deep breath. "I - I'm still...a little hurt."

She frowned at him, opening her mouth to find out what the hell he was talking about when, with another deep breath, he tugged his black shirt up and off. He hunched over, wincing at the pain.

Quickly Jessie moved behind him and gasped softly at the growing welt, Jessibelle's whip gone but not forgotten. "Oh, James..." she murmured, grabbing the first aid kit and searching for something to ease his pain. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she grumbled, pulling out an instant ice pack, vaguely shocked that at one time they had the foresight to pack something that was actually useful. She handed the ice pack to him and instructed him to squeeze it until she came back. Standing, she rushed to the balloon and lugged out his sleeping bag before returning and laying it out.

James once again was lost in thought, watching her somehow remain calm (f-bombs aside) in a situation that he was sure he would be useless in. The thought of Jessie in his place, knowing how horrible and painful it could be, made him ill. That's what he would be doing instead of helping her - he would be in the bushes throwing up while Meowth did the best he could to bandage her up the same way Growlie did with him.

He jerked his head up at the sound of a loud whistle, disturbing thoughts plated for another day. She used the same finger that she had just whistled with to point at the sleeping bag. "Lay on your stomach," she instructed, taking the now-chilled ice pack from him.

Clenching his teeth through the pain, he managed to flop down on the sleeping bag, the cool fabric a welcome relief from what was burning up his back and now, seemingly, his entire body.

Jessie placed the ice pack on his welt and cringed at the sight of his face contorting, fists clenched. Forgoing her own sleeping bag for the moment, she laid down on her side next to him, reaching out and running her fingers through his hair. "I know, I know...it - it should help." She thought, anyway. Her nursing skills weren't exactly top-notch and near non-existent with humans.

Breathing heavily, James turned his head to look at her, smiling weakly. "Thank you."

Jessie shook her head, fingers tangling in his hair. "Rest, dummy."

Smile growing and breathing becoming steadier, he shut his eyes and let out a soft sigh. "You didn't even mention my scars."

"I was just a little preoccupied. If you want, later I can tell you for the millionth time how stupid and insignificant they are...just like your rotten family and fiancée."

"But they _are_ -" he began to protest until Jessie clasped her hand over his mouth.

"They don't define you...not the way you think they do, anyway." She moved her hand from his hair to softly run down his back, across some that she could barely feel and others that still felt as if they'd just been formed yesterday. "It's like our notebook - it tells a story...except this one has an ending."

"Is it a happy one?" he asked sleepily.

"So happy," she replied quietly. "Everyone will know that you're so strong and brave...and that even though the story might not have been what you wanted at times..." Jessie smiled to herself, trailing off, resting her hand against his back and leaning forward to gently kiss his forehead. "When you get lost in your story, I'll find you," she whispered, moving closer to him as drool began to run from his mouth. She sighed and shook her head at him, smiling more. "The princess has to save her knight in shining armor _sometimes_, you know."

* * *

><p>It shouldn't have bothered her as much as it did. It was a fluke, after all and were it not for the twerpette's incredible luck, <em>she<em> would be the princess. Jessie couldn't recall a time before the Princess Festival when she had even _worn_ a dress. The red-headed loudmouth was better suited as the evil step-sister of the princess. Besides, she had the best friends and Pokemon a girl could ever ask for. Who needed some stupid dolls when she had living ones?

Why she was unable to sleep, sitting up in the middle of the night and looking up at the moon, a spare blanket underneath her, was beyond her. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she rested her chin on them and sighed, watching as the moon's reflection in the nearby lake rippled from the Pokemon swimming and playing below.

Reasons marched through her head, one after another, as to why this was getting to her in such a way: maybe she needed more validation than she thought; maybe she wanted to prove to the twerps that she really _was_ a capable trainer and that they were truly just evil incarnate, sent to aggravate the living hell out of her; maybe she just wanted something to go right for once. Everything went like clockwork before they encountered the twerp and his Pikachu - what happened to that?

Despite being lost in thought, she wasn't fazed when another blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, talking without having to look at who had just sat next to her, "What are you doing awake?"

James shrugged, following her gaze out across the lake. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

Jessie returned his shrug before pulling the blanket closer around herself, realizing too late that it was too chilly a night to run around in her tank top and underwear.

The two sat in a comfortable silence, Jessie leaning over to rest her head on James's shoulder while he draped an arm around her, rubbing her arms with the blanket to keep them warm.

She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, letting her body slump against him. The past few weeks had been extremely trying; from encountering their old gang again to being trapped underground with ancient, terrifying Pokemon (and the twerp) to James's forced family reunion...no wonder she was a useless lump of a mess. A princess? Hardly.

Glancing down at her, he bit his lip. "Maybe I should have joined the competition, too...it would have doubled your chances."

Jessie laughed quietly and shook her head. "You make too ugly of a woman."

James frowned, resting his chin on top of her head. "Do not!"

"When you have boobs the size of a parade float and that older, perverted twerp isn't panting after you like an Arcanine in heat, you're definitely an ugly woman."

He opened his mouth to protest but closed it, frowning more at her flawless logic. "I'm sorry you didn't win."

She shrugged again, eyes still closed as she rested against him. "Life's tough and then you die."

"...That's cheery..." he said cautiously, pulling her closer.

"I mean...I should be used to failure by now, right?"

He shook his head and took his hand, tilting her chin up and causing her to open her eyes, meeting his. "This whole thing was completely ridiculous. You were the prettiest one there and you could actually battle, too." Swallowing hard, he ducked his head, staring down at his lap. "You're the most beautiful girl in the whole world," he said quietly. "Anyone that doesn't see that is blind or stupid."

Jessie stared at him, a little taken aback. James seemed to be more upset than she was and over something completely different; where she was angry about the battle, he was angry that she didn't automatically win based on her looks alone. Had it really been that long since he'd seen her in anything other than their uniform or a disguise that he suddenly was so passionate about how gorgeous she was? Not that she minded, of course but it was still strange.

She flashed back to standing on that stage next to the twerpette and how she had scanned the crowd for James and Meowth. Her heart had leapt up into her throat when she caught sight of him, staring at her and blinking dumbly - more so than usual. He was her biggest and most devoted fan. She was a little ashamed of herself for forgetting that.

Lifting his head with her hand to look at her, she smiled at him and leaned forward, kissing him quickly.

The two partners looked at each other, eyes searching the other's, hoping to read their mind and that they were both thinking the same thing. Together they moved in closer to each other until their lips touched, lightly brushing up against the other's. After sliding her arms around his neck, they sat motionless and looked into each other's eyes.

The intensity between them was almost enough to knock the two over. It was something neither had felt before and weren't sure what to do with. Instead of frantically pawing at each other, needing the other as quickly as possible before they blew, they found themselves moving in slow-motion, not wanting to take the moment for granted for a second.

Kissing again, a little more passionately than before, Jessie laid back on the blankets and pulled him along, fingers tangling in his hair. He hovered over her, moving from her lips to her jaw and then her neck; he wanted every part of her and wasn't about to rush, much to both her chagrin and delight.

She was hardly patient when it came to anything else, let alone something that had been so long-awaited and anticipated. Tugging his shirt up, arching her body against his, she couldn't help but grin when he pulled back and got out of his shirt as though it was filled with Beedrill. She thought about making a comment about his sudden lack of shyness but...screw it. Talking was overrated and his lips were currently involved in something far more important, planting soft kisses up her stomach.

In the back of his mind he was screaming at himself to stop and wondering what he was thinking - and more importantly, where the sudden burst of confidence came from. Sliding her tank up her torso, following it with a trail of kisses, he sat up slightly and watched her pull it completely off.

He couldn't help but stare at her, every part of him screaming back to his brain that _this_ was what he was thinking about. Somehow he had never seen her topless, despite living together in cramped spaces for years at a time. Even when she stopped caring, he still took the gentlemanly route and looked away. Gentlemen were stupid.

He was brought back to earth by Jessie pulling his head down to her and kissing him again, both hands on his cheeks, moving down his chest and stomach to the waistband of his boxers. Unable to help the soft moan that reverberated against their lips, he got out of them, albeit clumsily. Neither one seemed to notice or care.

Jessie tilted her head to the side and opened one eye, peeking at what had just been revealed and raising both of her eyebrows. How did he ever pass himself off as a girl? Inwardly shaking the thought from her mind, she decided she didn't want to know and wrapped her arms around him again. She knew his hands were at her panties and still, when he tugged them down, it sent a jolt through her, realizing how close they were to each other.

James apparently had the same realization, forcing himself to break their kiss. Once again they were staring at each other, the line between friendship and something more smudging beyond recognition. He lifted a hand to her cheek, brushing a few stray strands of hair away, smiling down at her. She smiled back at him, her fingers lightly dancing against the back of his neck, sending a shiver up his spine. Looking into her eyes, he saw them urging him on, begging him in a way that she could never vocalize.

Their eyes remained locked on each others as he entered her, the smudged line between them now erased completely. As he started to thrust in and out, he buried his face in her neck, kissing it softly and making his way across her shoulder. He desperately tried not to moan or groan too much despite wanting to shout from the mountain tops. It would've all been unintelligible anyway.

She had no problem voicing her pleasure, her eyes shutting and breath catching in her throat. Neither was surprised at how quickly they synced, having been that way to begin with. Tilting her head back against the ground, she moaned his name and he fought back his own, a tiny whimper emerging instead.

Both speeding up their pace, Jessie leaned in, her lips barely touching his ear when she pled breathlessly to him, "Don't stop."

He shook his head slightly, lifting his head and kissing her cheek, murmuring against her skin, "Never ever."

The chill in the air now was nonexistent, the heat between them as their bodies moved together like they were one keeping the cold out and nothing but warmth around them. Resting his forehead against hers, he sputtered through clenched teeth, "Jessie...I'm gonna - I should - I mean I'm not -"

"Don't care," was her reply before arching her hips against his and capturing his lips with hers, the kiss slow and deep.

It was more than enough to send him over the edge, letting out the moans he had been keeping in, muffled against her lips. She had been ready before this, not that she liked admitting that fact, her body remaining tense and arching up, calling out his name the way he'd always imagined she would - except that it was even better than his wildest dreams.

Still holding himself above her, both trying to catch their breath, their eyes met again - only this time, everything had changed. The urging, desire, and pent-up feelings were gone, replaced by two looks silently asking the other what the hell they were supposed to do now.

As much as he hated to, James rolled off of her, sprawling out with half of his body on the blanket and half on the cool grass. Goosebumps rose on his skin despite how hot and sweaty he felt.

He was waiting for Jessie to move - to get up and get dressed and move on like nothing had ever happened; instead, she rolled over, resting her head on his chest. He swallowed hard, sliding his arm around her waist, suddenly very much aware of just how naked she was, pressed up against him.

She bit her lip, slowing her breathing to match his, his heart pounding against her ear. Running her fingertips across his stomach, she couldn't help but wonder where she had been when James - scrawny, weak little James - developed something of a halfway decent body. She was probably off in a corner somewhere, telling herself how what had just happened between them was never, _ever_ going to come to pass. For once, she was glad that she was wrong.

He took a deep breath, his own fingers running up and down her side lightly. He stared up at the stars now but was only reminded of her eyes in the dark blue sky, little twinkles of light here and there showing up through the clouds. "You shouldn't have won anyway," he said suddenly.

Jessie blinked. "Well, so much for the afterglow," she said flatly, too tired and satisfied to move and make her point stick.

"No, no..." he trailed off briefly before continuing quietly, "None of those girls could compete with you. You were at a completely different level...higher and looking down on them." He smiled slightly to himself. "It was beneath you. Why would you want to be a princess when you're already a queen?"

She blinked again and slowly tilted her head up to look at him. Maybe things weren't as different as they thought. Resting her head back against his chest, she smiled and shut her eyes, letting out a contented sigh. "I guess that makes you a king, then."

Glancing down at her, he put his free hand underneath his head. "I thought I was a knight in shining armor."

Jessie shrugged slightly. "When knights marry princesses, they become princes, don't they? So of course if I'm at queen level, you're at king level with me."

James simply smiled, letting out a happy sigh of his own. After a few minutes, he asked, "If I'm the king and you're the queen, what does that make Meowth?"

They both thought for a second before looking at each other, grins spread across their faces as they said in unison, "The joker."


	19. Differentials

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>The corridor that ran underneath Team Rocket headquarters was extremely dreary for how pleased he was. The dim overhead lights buzzed, a few of them starting to flicker on and off. He made a mental note to tell a grunt to fix them but knew that it was likely he wouldn't remember. Why would he? The mundane was never something he liked having to endure - now even less so with the greatest achievement in the history of Pokemon sitting out back in the warehouse.<p>

As he walked along, he wondered if his mother had created the underground tunnel, connecting his office to the warehouse, for this very purpose. He knew that she was interested in DNA manipulation, choosing what - at the time - was the most powerful legendary anyone had come in contact with to experiment on. Given the fact that they accomplished what they did with only the smallest amount of DNA imaginable, he couldn't help but wonder what fantastic feats they would have been able to achieve if they had actually captured Mew.

Unfortunately, Giovanni feared that question would always remain unanswered; even if they managed to capture Mew, the scientist in charge of the whole experiment was dead, his colleagues killed as well when their creation turned on them. What little of the research that had survived the laboratory's explosion wasn't nearly enough to start from scratch again.

That may have been asking too much. He'd gotten what he desired - something that would be a very useful tool in his plans - he shouldn't have been wishing for more. There were some researchers in the warehouse lab that were making interesting progress on their own theories and experiments, giving him more pause at the idea of trying to recreate his weapon's birth. That plan was now in the past, successful in almost every way. He would've preferred that the man who figured the whole thing out hadn't perished but, at the same time, he wasn't all there to begin with. Rumors of him working on human cloning were seemingly unfounded and likely would remain that way with the destruction of the lab.

Walking up the flight of metal stairs that ascended from the underground to his office, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread; Miyamoto would likely ask him a million questions - questions he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to answer.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he hit a button on the wall that opened a secret passage in the wood panelling behind his desk. If only his mother had put as much thought into parenting as she did keeping Team Rocket's secrets.

He sat down at his desk and eyed the intercom warily. If he _didn't_ let her know that he had returned, she would only throw a bigger shit fit. Better to get it out of the way sooner rather than later.

Miyamoto answered his call, stepping inside the office and shutting the door behind her at his request. She stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed, waiting expectantly.

Giovanni had run off without so much as a goodbye and had been gone for three days. She had wondered if he knew something she didn't and was going to leave her high and dry the way he had that Ketchum woman. She wouldn't have been surprised if he could smell a fertilized egg from a mile away at this point.

"I suppose you want to know what kept me," he said in a dull tone, making himself comfortable in his desk chair.

She shrugged, not acknowledging that he was right in any way, shape, or form. "I just figured you were being a jackass. As usual. I can never go wrong with that assumption."

He smiled slightly - something that unnerved the hell out of her - and decided that if she was going to continue to be the raging bitch she had been the past few months, he would add some fuel to the fire for his own amusement. At least this way, he was in control of the information she received. "Well, and here I was going to congratulate you on a job well done."

Miyamoto rolled her eyes. "Will you please just get on with it? I have a very pressing game of solitaire I need to get back to."

His smile became a smirk as he began to swivel back and forth in the chair. "Your mission was a complete success. I'm sorry that it took so long for you to find out the result but...genius does take a bit of time."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Spit it the fuck out."

If she didn't make it so easy, he wouldn't be so tempted to aggravate her all the time. "Your mission to find Mew was to retrieve a sample from it and bring it back, wasn't it?"

Caught slightly off-guard by the sudden trip down memory lane, she let her arms fall to her sides and replaced her glare with an uneasy gaze. "For...scientific purposes...or some crazy thing your mother came up with."

He nodded. "That's right. Well, it just so happens that we managed to gather a bit of DNA from your clothes..." Laughing, he continued, "And to think that I thought you were out of your mind when you told me that story about Mew keeping you alive. I suppose I owe you an apology."

"Oh," she said quietly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Well, uh. Thanks, I guess?"

It was rare that she got so taken aback, especially by him; she was usually on his bullshit like flames on a Moltres. Not that it was a complete and total lie - they _had_ managed to gather DNA in the form of an eyelash - it just wasn't from anything Miyamoto had done. If he was to believe his mother, they had it and were inspecting it under microscopes months before she had even called Miyamoto into her office. Normally, he wouldn't believe a thing she had to say - especially when it came to Miyamoto; but it seemed entirely too plausible that his mother would march her off to her death simply for continuing to exist.

He turned his chair to face the wall, putting his back to her, having a flair for the dramatic that seemed to have passed down to his daughter. "The project that I've been so preoccupied with has completed its long, arduous first phase. Now, we enter the second."

"Wait, wait..." she said, putting her hands up and waving them. "You're saying that phase one took twenty fucking years?" She sighed in exhasperation. "What did you do?"

Giovanni shrugged - not that she saw it - and placed his hands in his lap. "It involves the discovery of the world's most powerful, vicious Pokemon." He turned his chair back around, continuing nonchalantly, "You'll see it in due time, of course. I'd like for it to be a bit tamer before introducing you two."

Miyamoto eyed him. She was versed in the language of Giovanni and yet couldn't read him or understand what he was hinting at for the life of her. Deep in the pit of her stomach, she got the intense feeling that she didn't want to know.

"Great," she said finally. "I'm glad your project has worked out so well." Heading for the door, she glanced back at him briefly. "Considering the massive hard-on you have for this thing, I'm going to guess that I shouldn't be expecting you to be around more than you have been. Right?"

"Probably even less, darling," he replied with a smirk, settling back into his chair and closing his eyes as his office door slammed shut.

* * *

><p>Meowth sat at the end of the bed, arms crossed, golden eyes narrowed at the two humans before him. He couldn't help but wonder if they were both big fakers and simply wanted a break from being electrocuted (not that he could blame them.)<p>

James's sneezes were tiny but multiple, almost as high as his voice could get at times; Jessie's were big and loud. Meowth thought that both sounded terribly fake. Their coughing wasn't much better, the dry hacks like his claws on a chalkboard.

Of course, with the two of them out of commission, he was the one that had to take care of them - and they took complete and total advantage of it. He was lucky that Mondo knew about an old TR cabin nearby and could give him explicit directions. The young Rocket had asked if Meowth needed any help - they weren't _that_ far from Viridian City, after all - but he declined. They were grown adults, surely he wouldn't have to treat them like children and wipe every bit of snot off their faces for them, right?

He should have known, really; for all their talk of magnificent plans and the rewards they would reap from them, Jessie and James could be awfully lazy. Jessie often expected the two boys to do the work while James made up different reasons why he didn't want to do this or that - medical, usually and always as stupid as he was.

So when they had the good fortune to get a real bed and out of the elements for a little while, why wouldn't they take it and roll with it for as long as possible? Meowth wished he would've thought of it first.

Making a face at the harmonious nose-blowing that happened much too often for his liking, Meowth scowled and said, "I still don't get it. Dere've been nights before when it was real cold - cooler den it has been - and yas didn't get sick _den_, did ya?"

Jessie returned his scowl. "I'm so terribly sorry that we couldn't get sick at your convenience."

"Nothin' youse two ever do would be convenient for Meowth," he mumbled, making another face at Jessie curling up against James. "I tink youse two should be separated. Ya know, ya keep spreadin' yer germs all over da place! Youse guys will never get any better!"

Grabbing a pillow, she smacked him off the bed, the Pokemon landing on the floor with a thud. "Shut up." She grabbed an empty box of tissues and threw that at him, as well. "We're out of tissues. Instead of sitting around and pouting about how _we're_ sick, you can go make yourself useful."

Rubbing his butt, Meowth's eyes widened and jaw dropped. "Make myself useful?! What'da tink I've been doin', ya ungrateful bit-"

"Hey!" James interrupted, laughing nervously. "What Jessie means is...um...she doesn't want you to get sick, sitting around and watching us. You probably _should_ get out of here for a little bit, even if it's just for a walk around the forest."

Jessie coughed, waving her hand in front of her face and then pointing to James, choking out, "What he said."

"Yeah, yeah..." Meowth mumbled, starting for the door. "I'll get yer junk."

James smiled at him and called as he walked out the front door, still grumbling, "Thank you!"

Groaning, Jessie buried her face against James's chest. "He'll end up hating me forever if I keep ruffling his fur to get him off the damn subject of how we got sick in the first place."

"He will not," James replied, making himself comfortable again against the pillows. "Unless you want to tell him..."

Unable to breathe well as it was, Jessie lifted her head and frowned at him. "Do you think he would be...well, not Meowth about it?"

James shrugged a little. "Probably not." Sighing and then coughing a little, he added, "He would never let us live it down."

Jessie shuddered, half from her breaking fever and half from the thoughts that went through her head. "He would never leave us alone."

"He'd get the Pokemon in on it, too...they would all be spying on us. All the time."

"Well...then I guess that's settled. We don't tell Meowth."

James nodded in agreement, watching as Jessie tried several times, unsuccessfully, to make herself comfortable. He bit his lip slightly, glancing away and out the small front window. "Do you...um...I - I mean, I know this stinks...being sick...and then having to keep secrets from Meowth..."

"But?"

He swallowed hard, fighting back another cough and running a hand through his hair. "Do you regret it?"

Jessie blinked and rolled to face him. "What? Why? Do you?"

He shook his head quickly, still avoiding her gaze. "Of course not!"

"Then what the fuck, James?" She propped herself up on an elbow and glared at him. "Do you really think I'm so...so...heartless that I would take back what we did just so I wouldn't end up getting sick? _Seriously_?"

His cheeks flushed and he knew it wasn't from feeling feverish. "No! I don't - I - I mean..."

Jessie rolled her eyes and laid back down, pulling the covers up to her chin. "We'll just have to choose a warmer night next time. That's all."

He started to nod but quickly stopped, jerking his head to look at her. "Next...time...?"

She clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, cursing herself out inside her head. "I didn't say that." It wasn't one of her better attempts at avoidance but she was sick, after all; sick and talking about something that she really didn't want to over-analyze for fear it would ruin the whole thing.

"Yes, you did! You said we'd -" he quickly stopped himself and swallowed again, shifting uncomfortably against the bed. "I guess I misheard you."

"Of course you did," she snapped. "Now, I'm going to try and get some sleep before that cat comes back and starts complaining again. No more stupid questions, got it?"

James nodded and looked down at his lap. "Got it. Sleep well, Jess."

She rolled over and groaned in response, clutching the blankets close. Was _he_ over-analyzing things? Of course, the first thing in the world that he ever tried to analyze and it had to be this. Why couldn't it have been what a bitch Cassidy was or at least _something_ that didn't make her heart pound in her chest to the point where she was certain he could hear it.

That was the thing about being sick: it gave you entirely too much time to think. Even the insomnia brought on by too much thinking seemed to give way at some point in the night when sleep would win the battle, but not the war. They usually had too much on their plates to think too much or too hard about some things. Then, their thoughts were usually consumed by the searing pain of another failed attempt at capturing Pikachu. Laying around and doing nothing was nice; she just hoped that there weren't spectacular consequences once they were well.

* * *

><p>Butch winced as the cell door clanged shut and joined his partner, slumping down against the wall.<p>

Cassidy snorted, having taken a seat on one of the benches opposite the trio and crossing her arms. "The fuck happened to you three?"

Jessie and James's uniforms were dirty and torn, their hair disheveled and faces smeared with dirt. Meowth was feverishly cleaning himself, much to the mild disgust of the humans that had to sit and watch.

Jessie crossed her arms as well and glared at her rival. "None of your business."

"Seems like you can't keep from getting yourselves into trouble even while in jail. That's a talent, I must admit," she retorted.

"I'd like to see you and Betch, over there, dig yourselves out of here!" James said, mimicking Jessie's actions.

"Yeah," she said, raising an eyebrow at him, "seems like you guys did a really great job at that."

Jessie slumped down as well now, turning her head away from her fellow Rockets. "It's not our fault that the stupid tunnel collapsed and the cops had to drag us out before we suffocated."

Meowth blinked up at her. "What? Yeah, it is!" He turned to Cassidy and Butch. "Ya see, we got dis 'diggin' a hole' ting down pat! It's tunneling dat we gotta work on, I tink."

"Will. You. Shut. Up," Jessie growled, smacking the Pokemon in the back of the head, getting a yowl in response.

Cassidy smirked. "Wow, digging holes, huh? While _we're_ doing important little scams to nab Pokemon for the boss, you three are glorified Diglett?" She began to clap her hands slowly, mockingly. "_Great_ plan ditching that old gig you had. You were only making a shit ton more money and weren't the laughingstock of headquarters."

"Cassidy, I swear..." Jessie began, rubbing her forehead, "this is jail - don't think I won't fucking shank you."

"Besides," James said, leaning forward slightly and letting a grin play across his face, "you two were just busted by the twerps, too. Big, bad Barch and Cassidy - who's going to be the laughingstock _now_?"

"It wasn't even all da twerps!" Meowth added, interrupting Butch as he tried to correct his name. "Dat twerpette was da only one dat was free and she _still_ made youse two fail!"

Narrowing her eyes, Cassidy leaned forward as well. "One time. How many times have you three been beaten by those brats?"

Jessie laughed slightly, shaking her head. "One time _for now_. If your precious little scams keep being this big, you're bound to get twerps on your tail."

James nodded, resting back against the wall. "Like a Venomoth to a flame."

"I think I'll take my chances and continue to accept important missions from the boss, thanks," Cassidy sneered.

"Will you all just shut up?" Butch mumbled, looking through the bars of the cell. "I'm so sick of this shit."

Jessie glanced at him and bit the inside of her lip. She always felt a twinge of guilt when Butch was around but the feeling was always stomped back down inside by her contempt for Cassidy. Never saying anything anyway, she tended to ignore Butch and focused on putting her energy into insulting his partner instead.

She looked down at the floor, the toe of her boot poking against the cool cement. "He's right," she said quietly, making everyone in the cell stare at her. Tucking some hair behind her ear, she continued, "We don't have to like each other but we don't have to get into a battle royal every fucking time we see each other, either."

Butch smiled a little, ducking his head when Jessie returned it. Cassidy looked between the two, gritting her teeth. James stood and went to the corner, leaning back against it and crossing his arms. Meowth took the opportunity to sprawl out on the bench.

"Oh," Cassidy said sarcastically, pouting at Jessie, "do you miss your little Jamesy -" She put a hand over her mouth and gasped, taunting the girl across from her. "Oops! I mean _Butchy_. That really _is_ hard to remember!"

Growling, Jessie stood from the bench and clenched her fists, prompting James to move from his sulking spot on the wall and stand next to her. "What is _wrong_ with you?! Are you so fucking miserable that you have to make everyone else miserable along with you?"

Standing as well, she put her hands on her hips. "Why would _I_ be miserable? I'm successful, well-off, _and_," she draped her arm over Butch's shoulders, raising an eyebrow challengingly at Jessie, "I'm getting some on the reg. Seems like _you're_ the miserable one, Jessie-Jess."

Sighing heavily, James wrapped his arms around Jessie's waist before she could charge, holding her tightly and wincing as she kicked him in the legs repeatedly, trying to escape.

She was about to slap him when Officer Jenny came to the cell and unlocked it, leaning against the door and gesturing to Butch and Cassidy. "You two can leave. You've been bailed out." Watching closely as the two exited the cell, Jenny added, "_Don't_ think of leaving Kanto. In fact, don't leave Viridian City once you get back. Understood?"

Cassidy smiled sweetly, grabbing Butch's hand as Jenny closed the door once again on the three other Rockets. "Yes, Officer Jenny. Of course."

"Hey! What about us?" Meowth asked hopefully, peering through the bars at the police woman.

Jenny shrugged, starting for the front of the station with Butch and Cassidy. "Sorry, only these two." She paused and glanced back at them. "Since you might be here for a while, you can help repair the floor in the other cell that you destroyed."

They groaned, Meowth falling back against the bench and Jessie still struggling to get out of James's grasp. He waited until Jenny and the other two were out of sight before letting her go, getting a slap to the face immediately after.

"Why do you keep doing that?!" she cried, shoving him down on the bench. "Why can't you let me -"

"Because she's not worth it!" he replied.

Jessie huffed, crossing her arms and staring down at the floor. "It would make me feel a hell of a lot better."

James shook his head slightly, reaching for her hand and taking it gently. "Maybe for a few minutes. Then everything would be the same as it always is...Cassidy would get under your skin and you'd want to beat her up all over again. You'd never be satisfied."

She swallowed hard, glancing at their hands, sitting down between James and Meowth. "It's not that she gets under my skin..."

"Den what is it?" Meowth asked.

"Sometimes...sometimes she makes me wonder if what she's saying isn't true."

James frowned, squeezing her hand. "What? That's crazy."

"James is right," Meowth added. "I tink you got her pegged more den she's got you, Jess."

Jessie bit her lip and looked between her partners, forcing a small smile. How could she tell them without hurting them and making them feel as crappy as she did that, most of the time, she _was_ pretty miserable. The only time in recent memory where everything negative had left her body and mind was when -

She glanced at James, who smiled at her and squeezed her hand again. A true romantic at heart, she had always heard that there was a significant difference between having sex and making love. She wanted to believe that - that she had the right idea wanting to wait for someone special. Then, with Butch, it was...well, he got her off, at least. That was good; but it wasn't what she had always imagined in her head. It seemed obvious now, after the fact, that it wasn't the special moment she had waited for because, simply put, she just didn't love Butch.

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting with James. It was so spontaneous that, in the moment, she didn't have any expectations. All she wanted was him. She wanted him so badly that it hurt inside up until the moment they were together. It all seemed to go away, nothing else in the world seeming to matter but the two of them. That hadn't been the case with Butch.

Jumping a little as James put his arm around her and rested his head against hers, Jessie looked at their hands once again. That night had made all her seemingly silly fantasies come true and then some; but what did that _mean_? Was it as amazing for him, too? Did he notice a difference between their night together and any other person he'd been with?

Jessie sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. She wasn't. Going to. Over-analyze. This. No, no, _no_. It was different because they were best friends and had known each other most of their lives. That and only that was the extent of it. The end.

Now if only she could make herself believe it.


	20. Ending Start

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Butch leaned across his partner, grabbing the lighter and a pack of smokes from the nightstand. Despite still being a bit winded, he pulled a cigarette out of the box with his lips, tossing it on to the bare chest of the girl next to him. After a few teasing flickers, he got the lighter to work and lit up, the lighter soon joining the pack on Cassidy's chest.<p>

He had been thoroughly pissed off ever since their brief stint in jail a day and a half ago. Normally any aggravation he'd felt - be it about Cassidy or a mission - was quelled by banging her until he couldn't feel feelings anymore and sticking a cig in his mouth so he wouldn't have to talk - not that she was big on that, anyway. This time, for some reason, nothing seemed to help his mood and the more time he spent with Cassidy only made everything worse.

Cassidy was feigning obliviousness, finally taking one of her own cigarettes out of the pack and leaning over, lighting it against his. The cold glare she received in return was hardly anything new; Butch could be a real brat when he wanted to be and it seemed as if he was leaning that way more often than not as of late. She was pissed, too! It was their first blown mission combined with the indignity of having to breathe the same air as two people and a Pokemon that had the nerve to call themselves a team. Did she sit and pout about it?

Nestling under the sheets of Butch's bed, she took a long drag and blew a fluff of smoke straight above her into the air. "So what's your fucking problem?" she asked, idly inspecting her cigarette for no real reason other than to continue the air of ignorance she'd perfected.

He rubbed a hand over his face and shook his head, laughing slightly with the butt of the cigarette still in his mouth. "Like you give a damn." Leaning back against the headboard, he crossed his arms and puffed. "I'm still giving you what you want, don't worry about it."

Her lavender eyes darted to the side, taking a brief glance at him. "Don't make it sound like a chore or anything."

Rolling his eyes, he reached across her once again to put the remains of the cig out in a nearby ash tray. "Sometimes it can be."

Putting out hers as well, she quickly slid her arms around his waist before he could roll off of her. "Last time I checked, you weren't complaining."

Butch wiggled out of her grasp and laid down on his side, putting his back to her. "Can we just go to sleep? Fuck."

She rolled over as well, pressing her body against his back and letting her fingers dance down his arm lightly. "What?" she said, resting her chin against his shoulder. "Maybe I'm still ready to go."

"Maybe I don't give a shit," he retorted.

Cassidy narrowed her eyes at him, gripping his arm tightly, fingernails digging into the skin. He clenched his teeth and tensed but didn't move or say a word. Keeping her hold on him, she leaned in and began kissing at his neck, murmuring against him, "Stop acting like such a child."

Abruptly he rolled over on his back, pushing her away, returning her dark look. "If I'm so childish then maybe you should find someone else to fuck."

Butch could bitch-out with the best of them, even giving Cassidy a run for her money at times; but this seemed like more than simply just a foul mood. She'd never really sensed anything overly affectionate from him as he seemed to be playing with the cards he'd been dealt, no matter how terrible the hand was. Suddenly, however, the feeling of cold, harsh contempt ran through her like a spear, the look on his face something she had never seen before.

Shifting against the bed, she cautiously laid back down next to him, eyes locked on his unmoving form. She was rarely frightened - never when it came to Butch - and yet this person laying next to her made her feel extremely uneasy.

She tried not to let her fear and concern show in her actions or voice when she asked, "Seriously...what's going on?"

Deep chocolate eyes slowly looked at her, staying on her face briefly before he rolled over and faced her, propping himself up on his elbow. "I'm sick and tired of you always using me to piss Jessie off. I swear, sometimes I think you only started sleeping with me in the first place just so you could do exactly what you did in that jail. You don't give a fuck about me beyond this working partnership and I'm _done_." Laying back down, staring up at the ceiling, he said quietly, "I'm not going to be everybody's 'next best thing to' anymore."

Cassidy stared at him, her stomach feeling as though it had plummeted right to her legs. She knew that she tended to be callous in just about everything she did - something that she once thought was a good thing and often used it to her advantage with everything from missions to men - yet now here she was, getting her feelings hurt over what this moron thought of her.

There was always a spark of fire in her frigid heart for Butch. She didn't know what it was, in hindsight - just that it wasn't because of his relationship with Jessie. Oddly enough, she seemed to be in the minority and thought his voice could be sexy - especially when he growled all the things he was going to do her in her ear before making good on every one. He was a rarity: someone that could easily be pushed around and told what to do while he held his own, not cowering in the corner and whining like another loser she could name. It was possible that he was the first guy to ever give it back to her just as harshly as she gave it, somehow able to keep from being a total creep the whole time.

She didn't like the way she was feeling, prompting her to toss the sheets off of herself and get up. He watched her, hands behind his head, deciding that he wouldn't add fuel to the fire and pester her about what she was so intent on escaping from. He was too damn tired to deal with her bullshit and his level of caring was in the negatives.

In her uniform in a flash, Cassidy ran a quick brush through her hair, her desire to get the hell away from her partner greater than her desire to style herself. He watched as she sat on her bed and slipped her boots on and let out a heavy sigh - half-concerned and half-annoyed. And everyone thought Jessie was a drama queen.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she made her way to their bedroom door.

"The basement. Where do you think?" she replied, walking with purpose down the hall and toward the front door. Her hand on the knob, she gripped it with her gloveless hand and called back to him before leaving, "Don't wait up."

* * *

><p>"It feels like we've been in this stupid fucking forest for years," Jessie said with a grumble.<p>

"I'm not entirely convinced that we haven't," James replied with a sigh.

The trio had once been able to navigate the Viridian Forest with ease, lending them an upper-hand when it came to snatching trainers' Pokemon. If you weren't careful, you could easily get turned every which way and end up hopelessly lost, every direction looking the same, no hint as to which was the right way to go and which would only drag you deeper into the forest.

They had been away from their old stomping grounds for months and in that time had become very different Rockets and people than they were when they left. Where once they only knew success and would comment on how easy their tasks were, now they only knew failure, digging around in trash cans for any morsel of food to eat and living off the usually very unfriendly land.

It wasn't much different for Jessie and James than when they had run away from Pokemon Tech and later the bike gang with the big exception that, back then, they hadn't had a taste of what being a winner could feel like.

It had occurred to Jessie after the nightmare that was Jessibelle that, while she was certainly more than used to making things last as long as possible and maybe even going without food for a night or two, James was anything but. He had servants - cooks on call for him 24/7. He probably hadn't experienced real hunger in his entire life up until that point. She wasn't sure whether to be jealous or feel guilty that she was the reason he gave all of that up and had to get used to her old way of life.

Before joining Team Rocket there were two short points in her James-less life where she actually had a place to stay and food on the table; the rest of the time she really barely ate at all, too busy bouncing around in the wild to remember to do it until she got dizzy enough. How she survived was beyond her ability to comprehend. The thought had crossed her mind during happier times that maybe she had survived to join Team Rocket and live up to her mother's reputation; now, of course, she was back to wondering _why_ more than _how_ she lived through her feral stage - it obviously wasn't the Team Rocket thing.

James was unaware of Jessie's experiences after the bike gang and she preferred to keep it that way. He had gone into what he had been up to in the vaguest of detail once and she didn't press him for anything else, hoping that he would give her the same respect. There was a Carnivine involved in James's story, alluding to the fact that he had one on hand that he'd captured and had traveled with him in his journey to find her. He mentioned something about having to leave it behind when he wanted to join Team Rocket, making Jessie's guilt bubble up once again.

Instead of feeling guilty, she decided to be mad about the fact that James had a companion - she had squat but that was par for the course, wasn't it? It hadn't been until she was around people again that she realized just how lonely she had been by herself...something that she chose not to linger on for too long. In the end, it was probably beneficial for her - anyone she got attached to ended up going away, anyway.

Slumping down against a tree trunk, Jessie rested her head back against it and let her arms fall to her sides. "I officially give up."

James nodded, joining her and slumping down against the side of the same tree with a groan. "It's getting dark out, too."

Meowth crossed his arms and frowned at them. "What?! C'mon, youse two are just bein' lazy!"

Shooting him a glare, Jessie retorted, "_We_ didn't spend half the day sitting on someone's shoulders _sleeping_!"

"Heh, yeah...you're probably too heavy for James to carry around anyhow."

She narrowed her eyes, grabbing a nearby stick and throwing it at him, smiling in satisfaction when it hit him on the head. "James is more than strong enough, aren't you?"

James swallowed hard and glanced around the forest as if looking for a way to escape. "I...I don't know how to answer that question..." He put a hand on the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "If I say yes...then it's like agreeing that you're heavy...but then if I say no...well, it's the same thing, I suppose."

Jessie rolled her eyes, throwing a small twig at Meowth this time. "You can set up camp since you're so damn energetic."

Meowth pulled down his eye and stuck his tongue out at her, taking the two pieces of wood she'd thrown at him and gathering them for a fire.

As he wandered off, Jessie yawned and stretched, making a face when her back cracked. "I think maybe staying in that cabin while we were sick was a bad idea. My body isn't liking having to sleep on the ground again."

"We'll be back at headquarters soon," James said, smiling. "Then we can sleep in our own beds and give ourselves a break."

"Right," she said with an unbelieving snort, "because the boss will definitely let us take time off to recuperate after we've been fucking around with that stupid Pikachu for months. We haven't done anything to earn any kind of praise or reward from the boss." She turned her head to look at him, brow furrowed slightly. "And if you think we have, you'd better get out of that mindset right now. There are fantasies and then there are pure delusions."

He sighed, looking down at the ground between them. "I don't know..." he began softly, playing with a stray pebble he'd found in the dirt, "I always thought being with you was a big delusion and that seemed to work out pretty well."

Opening her mouth to make some smart retort, she blinked as the realization of what he said actually hit her ears. Quickly, she ducked her head. "Was it really..." she trailed off, unsure of what she even wanted to ask. After a few minutes of silence between them, she started again, "It was more in the fantasy area for me."

Turning his head again to look at her, he bit his lip slightly. "So...so never completely out of the question...?"

"Well," she said, sitting up straighter against the tree and crossing her arms, "it's not as if we hadn't kissed or been on the verge of it before, you know."

James nodded, resting his head against the tree and watching her tense up and shift against the ground awkwardly. "I guess...I made it out to be so perfect in my head that I thought it wasn't possible for it to really be that way."

Head turned away from him, she darted a glance out of the corner of her eye. "Were you right?"

He smiled, daring to flick the pebble at the back of her head. "I was wrong about how perfect it would be and right that it wouldn't be the way I'd imagined it."

Her heart sank as she lifted a hand to the back of her head to swat at the fallen pebble. She didn't say anything in response - what was there to say? He'd all but said that she was alone in how she felt about it so what else needed to be said?

Scooting closer to her, he said quietly, half-hoping that she wouldn't hear, "It was better. I could never think up something like that."

She felt his shoulder brush against hers, biting her lip so hard she almost split it. Her sunken heart rose from the depths of her stomach to pound hard in her chest as she dared to turn her head back to face him.

His head was down, periwinkle hair surrounding his face, blocking any expression he may have been making from her view. That deep ache inside of her started again as she remembered the first time she'd ever seen that idiot use his hair as a shield against anything uncomfortable. Again, she longed for him to take her in his arms and kiss her; even if that was all it was, it would still make her body melt into his within seconds of his touch.

"I don't know, though," James said abruptly. "I never...I don't have anything else to compare it to...that's all." He shut his eyes, hyper-aware of the blush that had made itself known and almost positive she could see it through his hair. "You were my first."

Jessie blinked again while trying to process what her partner was saying. It had never crossed her mind that James had never...he was so sweet and romantic and sexy, she'd just assumed that _someone_ had gotten him into bed at some point during their separation. Then again, maybe it was wishful thinking so that she wouldn't feel so awful about Butch.

Not getting a response, the longer the silence went on killing him a little bit more inside, he stood up and ran his hand through his hair before dusting off his pants. "I'm going to see if Meowth needs any help."

As he started past her, she grabbed on to his pant leg suddenly, looking up at him. "Can we pretend you were mine, too?"

James looked down at her for a moment before kneeling in front of her. He nodded slightly, leaning in, brushing his lips against hers.

She slid her arms around his neck, kissing him back and letting her eyes fall shut, trying to heighten her senses so she could feel and taste him even more.

He let her pull him closer to her, one hand sliding up her thigh, barely under her skirt when -

"_I knew it_!" came the accusatory screech, making James jump back from Jessie and fall backward.

Meowth, firewood in his arms, stomped over to the two increasingly guilty-looking Rockets. "I knew youse two were up to sometin'!" He paused and made a face. "Didn't tink it was dis...kinda wish it wasn't."

They looked at each other, James's blush growing and Jessie's forming brightly, both too surprised to even inflict harm on him. Eyes meeting, a flash of the same question went through their minds: what if Meowth hadn't shown up?

Flustered beyond reason and still in the same position he'd landed in, James blurted out, "We had sex and that's how we got sick, from all the nudity and chilly weather!"

Jessie's jaw dropped in outrage and horror, eyes darting to Meowth and back to James again.

An unexpected sigh of exasperation came from the Pokemon. "Youse can do whateva ya want - just make sure Meowth don't get an eyeful of it!" He turned around and started stacking the sticks in a pile. "James!" he called back over his shoulder, "help me get dis ting lit!"

Still in shock and staring at each other, it was James's turn to come to the realization that he was being spoken to, shaking his head slightly and scrambling up. "Yeah! Sure! No problem!"

She watched as he clumsily made his way to Meowth, running her hand through her hair. Much of the reason they'd gone as long as they did without any other contact between them was Meowth's reaction; now, he'd all but told them to go at it like Buneary just as long as they kept it out of his face. Their incentive had gone out the window, leaving her feeling more exposed than ever...with no reason to avoid it, how was she supposed to push everything she was feeling aside?

The answer was simple enough: don't do it; but when had things ever been simple?

* * *

><p>Returning to the apartment, still a little groggy, Cassidy winced and put a hand to her throbbing head at the sound of the door closing. She ran her hand back through her hair, wincing again when her hand got caught in the mess of tangles.<p>

Collapsing on the couch, she put both of her hands over her face and squeezed her eyes shut. Everything about the previous night was fuzzy - from the people to the activities to what she had to drink. Butch probably slept like a Snorlax.

She rubbed her hands against her face, trying to get her shit together before he saw her. Before letting her hands drop, she noticed a yellow powder on them, a flash of the night before appearing in her mind. She was snorting the ever-living hell out of stun spore mixed with something else that supposedly limited the effects of the actual paralysis and intensified the high. Well, that was one mystery solved.

"What did you do to yourself?"

Cassidy quickly sat up and tried to pat down her matted hair, rubbing her nose with her hand to rid it of any other residue. She didn't face him, barely even acknowledging that he was standing there by the other side of the couch, his eyes boring a hole in her.

Clenching his fists, he turned his head from her as well. If she'd intended to make him feel like a pile of crap, she'd been successful. He'd tossed and turned for an hour before biting the bullet and dressing, heading down to the illustrious night club below. After his own search was a bust, he asked around and found out that she'd left - off her ass on who knew what - with a group of equally wasted agents. He never got to sleep.

"I know we're supposed to be this big, happy Rocket family but shit, Cass..." he sighed, running a hand back through his turquoise hair, "that was so stupid of you. You're not invincible. We know the kind of people that end up becoming agents - we _are_ those people. Do you think some grunt wouldn't jump at the chance to fuck you up just for the bragging rights? You could've gotten yourself killed hanging out with those people."

"I thought you were done," she replied coldly, slowly standing and fighting back the urge to groan at the throbbing in her head.

He leaned against the couch and shut his eyes, letting out another sigh. "The boss wants us to join him and his special project on an emergency mission. You've got an hour."

Cassidy turned and glared at him. "Why would you accept a mission -"

"I didn't accept shit," he interrupted. "It was an order. I'm not about to get my ass handed to me by the boss for you."

"Right," she said as she made her way into the bedroom, "because you're done."

* * *

><p>Miyamoto sat with the seemingly endless parade of Rockets getting medical care at the hospital.<p>

Somehow during the course of the past two decades, Giovanni had managed to buy off nearly the entire city - hospital administrators and several male officers under Jenny being the ones that seemed to have paid off the most thus far. She was grateful that, from what she could tell, no one had sustained any serious injury in the blast. Needing to rebuild not only the gym but now most of the headquarters as well was bad enough; if they had to deal with dead bodies all over the place, what an extra-aggravating nightmare that would've been.

Despite having a gash across her forehead and multiple scratches everywhere else, Miyamoto was still tasked with the job of marking off Rockets as they were examined and getting them to sign a waiver stating that they didn't hold Team Rocket responsible for any injuries and would agree to a pay raise in return for their cooperation. As if any of them had a choice in the matter. At this point it was obvious to everyone that spent the bulk of their time at HQ that either you agreed to do as the boss asked or you got a bullet in the back of the head - and _that_ was the nice option.

She had seen Giovanni fleetingly as he spoke with Jessie and her partners and climbed aboard one of the helicopters. The sight of the bright red R on the sides still sent a shiver up her spine. It made her think back to the Giovanni that had rescued her and stayed by her side until she was well again. It seemed that crazy became more prevalent in his family the older they got. Ever since his pet project had been brought to HQ she was lucky if she saw him every couple of days - and that was only because they shared his penthouse and he eventually had to come home to shower and sleep.

She never thought that she would feel like this in a million years but she found herself missing him. It was disconcerting how unlike herself she felt without him to spar with; the fact that he could so easily detach and run off to who knows where without a second thought made her feel foolish. It was rarely vocalized between them but, much to her annoyance, Miyamoto really did love him. When trying to pinpoint the moment in their timeline that she came to that realization, everything smeared together, not one pivotal moment standing out to her. She thought that maybe it was because, through it all, they had always had those feelings for each other; now she wasn't so sure.

Sighing and blowing the bangs of her Matori wig out of her eyes, she sat in the emergency room and continued about her job. A random glance up made her balk, eyes focused on the magenta-haired girl and her human and Pokemon counterparts that had just walked in. Nothing made her heart hurt more than seeing her daughter so dejected and not being able to comfort her.

Miyamoto shook her herself out of her thoughts as the trio made their way over to her to check in. She looked up from her seat and forced a smile. "Well, it's good to see you three are safe."

"We weren't even here when it happened," Jessie said, her arms crossed.

"Heh, yeah," Meowth spoke up, "looks to me like we get hurt ten times worse den most of dese yutzes!"

Miyamoto frowned, opening her mouth to inquire further about what exactly he meant by "hurt" when she noticed Jessie's gaze sharply turn to her left and stay there. Her body tensed and she dug her fingers into her upper arms, hugging herself more than simply crossing arms now. She followed her eyes and saw Butch and Cassidy, two of the higher ranking agents and Giovanni's new playthings, so it seemed.

Clearing her throat, she answered Jessie's unasked question, "They're both fine. She's got some cuts and bruises...so does he along with a dislocated shoulder." She kept her eyes glancing between Jessie and the scene that was playing out behind half-pulled curtains.

Cassidy was at his side as he laid in a bed, arm in a sling, both of their faces smudged with dirt and varying degrees of bandages. Butch was looking up at her dreamily and said something that made Cassidy's eyebrows raise and immediately inspect his IV bag before flicking the drip with her finger.

"Looks like dat Bunch guy's all doped up!" Meowth said with a laugh, nudging James in the leg. "He was already dopey enough!"

James bit his lip to fight back a chuckle, lowering his head immediately when Jessie shot him a dirty look and proceeded to kick Meowth.

"Well," Miyamoto started, ending a silence that lasted too long for her liking, "you three are free to go. You were actually very lucky to have been off on assignment." She shrugged. "You probably lost little to nothing since you've got all the important stuff with you."

"Yeah, we're thrilled," Jessie said flatly, turning on her heel and starting for the sliding doors.

"Hey!" Meowth said, hopping up on the seat next to Miyamoto. "Is Mondo okay?"

Jessie stopped but didn't turn around.

She nodded. "He's fine. He's actually back at headquarters - or what's left of it - helping sort through some of the rubble."

"Dat kid..." Meowth sighed, hopping down from the seat.

"If you happen to see him, tell him that we're happy he's okay!" James said with a small smile, turning and trotting to catch up with Jessie, who had walked out of the emergency room right after learning of Mondo's fate.

Meowth waved briefly and joined his team, leaving Miyamoto to lean back in the hard plastic chair and let out a heavy sigh she didn't realize she'd been in holding in through their whole encounter.

Giovanni's idea that they would know more about Jessie's life and what she was up to if she became a member of Team Rocket had proved to be very flawed. She had felt closer to her daughter when she was miles away at school and all she knew of her were grades and reports, pictures and notes. Given the amount of time Butch, Cassidy, and another disturbingly young recruit spent seeing Giovanni, Miyamoto felt more connected to them than Jessie. At least she saw them almost daily.

Her heart was heavy with the realization that the place she had called home for almost her entire life was now reduced to pebbles dotting the Viridian City street. She enjoyed the familiarity of headquarters; but a part of her was a tad bit thrilled that so many awful moments in time that had happened in that building were now gone. There was an odd sense of freedom about it all and she had whatever that project was to thank. It had to be special; after all, it did what she couldn't bring herself to do even in the worst of times: escape Team Rocket.


	21. Orange You Glad?

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>The Rocket trio wandered around Valencia Island, all moods sour despite Meowth's attempt at humor: "In case of a water landin', Jigglypuff can be used as a floatation device!" He received a smack to the back of his head for his efforts and soon joined his team to bask in grumpiness.<p>

James barely lifted his feet off the ground, his boots making a scraping sound against the sand, then the dirt road they decided to follow. Jessie, hair wet and flowing down her back and shoulders, shot his feet dirty looks every so often, equating the sound with a fury swipe against a chalkboard. Any other time, she would have threatened to cut his damn feet off if he didn't cut it out; but, being as downtrodden as they were, she decided to let the silence between them continue. They all were thinking the same thing, anyway - what needed to be discussed?

What had started out as a promising new assignment in the sunny Orange Islands had become more of the same humiliation and failure that even they had come to expect from themselves. It had been two days and already their optimism had plummeted into the sea - much like they had a few hours ago. They probably should have been sneaking around, following the twerps that likely made it there without incident, spying on the professor while they were in walking distance of her lab; instead, they continued to trudge along and feel sorry for themselves. Only _they_ could get a job as sweet as island-hopping and turn it in to another one of their miserable failures.

The unappealing thought of encountering any humans - especially the twerps - led them to hike deep into the forest, the ground still muddy from the storm. The scraping of James's boots was gone now, all of their feet becoming caked with mud. Soon, their uniforms were covered as well following the rescue of Meowth, whose small stature did nothing to help him navigate the soggy terrain and led him to get stuck in a particularly deep and wet pocket of earth.

It had to be the longest time they had gone without talking when not asleep or stuffing their faces. Stopping to rest against a tree for a minute, Jessie simply stood with an impenetrable scowl on her face, her salty hair starting to frizz in the growing humidity. Meowth jumped onto a branch and let out a relieved sigh, free from the squishy ground. James decided to look ahead a bit and started off without his companions, the awful noise his boots made as they walked in the mud causing Jessie to twitch.

Not far from where they had stopped to rest, James came upon a group of oddly placed trees. They didn't seem to flow with the rest of the forest and couldn't have been as old. Pushing his way through the prickly brush, he came out on the other side and blinked slowly at what he saw.

It was a large steel building - possibly a factory at one time - with orange cones and construction tape over most of the east side. No one was running the equipment at the moment and the thought crossed his mind to grab a bulldozer to help them get through the rest of their muddy trek. Stepping closer, he looked up at the seemingly never-ending chain-link fence that surrounded the property, noting spirals of barbed wire in place of some of the fence here and there. Whatever this place was, somebody wanted lost travelers like himself to stay the hell away.

"Fucking hell, James," came the testy voice as it snapped its way through the same path he had. She came in to view, Meowth clinging to her shoulder. "What are you _doing_?"

He looked at her briefly and then gestured with his head to the building before them. "What do you think this place is?"

"Who cares? We're never getting in there. Unless you'd like to volunteer your services to climb that monstrosity of a fence and let us in."

James shook his head and looked back at the building just as a large, black van appeared on the property. He made a move to hide back in the treeline but stopped upon seeing the red R plastered on the side of the vehicle. Watching as several grunts exited out the back - reminiscent of a clown car - James murmured, "Is this...a Team Rocket place?"

Jessie frowned and joined him closer to the fence, peering through the wire at the grunts doing what they usually did best: busy work. "Why wouldn't the boss tell us?"

"Especially since the blimp assignment he gave us would've landed us right on this island anyway," James added.

Someone emerged from inside the building wearing an identical uniform to James's, tiny and young in comparison to the black-suited grunts. Meowth nearly sliced Jessie's ear off when he pointed, a toothy grin appearing on his face. "Hey! Dat's Mondo!" Taking a deep breath, he screeched the kid's name - right in to Jessie's ear - waving his paws wildly until his mode of transportation was thoroughly sick of his shit and grabbed him by the scruff, throwing him down to the ground. She glared at him and rubbed her ear to which the Pokemon laughed nervously and shrugged.

In a few seconds, Mondo had covered the large expanse of property and was running up to the fence, smiling brightly. "Guys! I was wondering when you were gonna get here!" He darted a look at Jessie and immediately turned red, voice lowering and mumbling shyly, "Guys and Miss Jessie, I mean."

James rubbed the back of his neck, frowning at their young friend. "I'm not entirely sure we're _supposed_ to be here..."

After giving Mondo a genuine smile - how could anyone be in a bad mood when there was someone right there worshipping the ground you walked on and hanging on your every word? - Jessie crossed her arms, the scowl returning to her lips. "We got an assignment that would've landed us here but the boss didn't say anything about this...what is it?"

"Oh," Mondo said, looking back at the building, "temporary headquarters. The boss was pretty upset about the old headquarters getting destroyed, so now he's planning on building other ones in different regions so that if one goes down, we haven't lost a bunch of stuff and have a place to go in the meantime."

"So...dis place is da new HQ until da one in Viridian City is rebuilt?" Meowth asked.

Mondo nodded. "Right. It's not as big, obviously, so the boss picked and chose who would join him here and who would stay back in Viridian to help with the repairs."

All at once, the four team members let those words sink in and had the same sad reaction of slumping their shoulders and lowering their heads. Mondo shook his and tried to clean up the mess he'd inadvertantly made. "I'm sure you guys were chosen! Why would he send you here if you weren't?"

"Because they're total losers."

Jessie, James, and Meowth all looked up at once to see a girl about Mondo's age standing behind him, smirking. Her light blonde hair was in curly pigtails, her uniform resembling Cassidy's, the skirt of it white instead of black. The trim on her uniform was pink, even the R appearing to take on more of that tone than the usual, illustrious red.

It was Mondo's turn to slump his shoulders and lower his head now, letting out a sigh. "C'mon, Domino...can't you see that they've had a tough time?"

"Their life is one big tough time," she retorted, wrapping her arms around Mondo's waist from behind and smiling brightly. "Of course, if you make it worth my while, I might just let them in."

Growling, Jessie clenched her fist and went up to the fence, spitting at the girl, "You little bitch, he doesn't have to do a damn thing for you!"

Domino stuck out her tongue and pulled down her eye at the older girl, ignoring the immediate response of a line of swear words that left even James and Meowth in awe, returning her attention to Mondo. "If you take me to the _beeee_ach, I'll let them _iiiiinnnn_..."

Making a face as Domino poked his cheek with her finger, he simply nodded and tried to squirm away from her. "As soon as they're inside."

Squealing happily, she leaned in and kissed the same cheek quickly. "I'll go get ready!" Darting a glance at the trio, she added in annoyance, "_After_ I let these morons in, of course." Lifting her hand, she pointed across to the fence on the other side. "Entrance is there. I'll tell Mondy the code and he can meet you there and pass it on."

Meowth snickered. "_Mondy_."

Mondo's face flushed again. "Can't you just tell them now?"

She snorted and turned up her nose. "Knowing these three, they would probably forget by the time they got there."

"Oh, I can't _wait_ to see how brave you are when there isn't a barbed wire fence between us, you little -"

James clasped his hand over her mouth and laughed nervously. "We really appreciate it!"

As Domino whispered in Mondo's ear, Jessie bit James's hand, causing him to yelp out and cradle the injured limb against his chest. She crossed her arms and smirked, thoroughly pleased with the result.

Nodding in understanding, Mondo made another face when Domino kissed his cheek again and started skipping her way back to the building. The three Rockets stood expectantly as their young assistant stuck his hands in his pockets and lowered his head, brown hair falling over his eyes. "She's really not as bad as she seems. She's actually kinda...nice when nobody else is around."

"Well, she's a spiteful little witch the rest of the time," Jessie said, turning her nose up.

"Heh, reminds ya of somebody, don't it?" Meowth asked, only to realize the error of his ways seconds before a boot smashed his face into the mud.

"I don't know what you mean," Mondo said quickly, shifting in place awkwardly. "Um, I got the code so all you guys have to do is get over to the entrance and punch it in. It's just a bunch of numbers."

As he rattled off said numbers, Jessie blinked and tilted her head to the side. "Weird...that's my birthday."

Meowth grunted against the ground, shooting a glare at her and retorting, "Don't flatter yerself!"

She frowned down at him, arms crossing again in a defensive huff. "I never _said_ that's the reason the boss chose it! He may not have even done it. I was simply saying that it was _strange_. Is that _okay_ with you?!"

"Dat tone yer takin' ain't _okay wit' me_!"

Both James and Mondo sighed, the latter giving the former a small wave before starting back for the building.

James began walking toward the entrance wordlessly, his argumentative partners following but not missing a beat in their spat. By the time the group reached the entrance and James put in the code, Jessie and Meowth had shut up, moods significantly brightened by the thought of a shower, food, and a comfortable bed.

The fence clanging loudly shut behind them, James balked on their way to the temporary headquarters, causing Jessie and Meowth to stop and look back at him. His movements unintentionally mimicked those of their younger friend, body weight shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "What do we do if...we really _aren't_ supposed to be here? And the boss finds out?"

Jessie opened her mouth to answer but slowly shut it, furrowing her brow, suddenly wondering the same thing. Both humans looked down to Meowth - the self-described "expert" on the boss - hoping that he had an answer. When the Pokemon backed up and put both paws up, shaking his head, the trio stood in the middle of the gravel driveway that led to the building before them, unsure of themselves.

Finally Jessie spoke up, "Domino is the one that gave Mondo the code to let us in. If the boss gets angry, we tell him that _009_ thought it was perfectly fine! And - being that she's higher ranked than we are," she paused to mutter something best left unheard before continuing, "we thought that she would be the one to know if we were supposed to be here or not."

James made a face. "Isn't that throwing her under the bus a little? I mean...she's Mondo's girlfriend and all..."

"She is not," she said in annoyance. "Besides, it's not throwing her under the bus when we're just telling the truth. If I wanted to throw the little Muk under the bus, I'd suggest telling the boss that she let us in herself and welcomed us with open arms. See?" She turned around and began walking once again. "I can ruin her if I feel like it." Glancing back over her shoulder, she added, "I can ruin plenty of people."

Raising both of his eyebrows and glancing down at a shrugging Meowth, James jogged to catch up with her, calling, "What is that supposed to mean? _Jessie_! I want to be in on the gossip, _too_!"

* * *

><p>As Cassidy walked by the muddied and frazzled trio, she couldn't help but laugh out loud, tossing back in their direction as she continued on her way, "I guess we'll have to get the new HQ sanitized <em>already<em>! Who knows what diseases those three are carrying these days."

Smirking at Jessie's retort - something entirely too uncreative about STDs - she made her way down a long hallway, boots clicking against the new linoleum floor, the sound reverberating against the bare and sterile walls. At the very end of the hall she stopped in front of a door and slid a card through the electronic checkpoint, blowing some hair from her eyes as she waited for the light on the machine to turn green and open the door.

Placing the access card back in her boot, she wandered over to her partner and a handful of scientists - nerds, in her opinion, but apparently some took offense to that term. She crossed her arms and looked the contraption over while finishing touches were being made, slightly unimpressed. "This is _it_?"

Not looking up at her, Butch continued with his work of screwing steel panels to the bottom of the machine. "It works. It doesn't have to look spectacular if it works."

She tilted her head to the side, squinting her eyes in an attempt to find some kind of beauty in the thing. "It doesn't have to look so dumpy, either."

Narrowing his eyes at her through his hair, he replied, "Maybe if you were actually _around_ to help, you could have put some of your input in then."

She shrugged. "This isn't my speed. I like action; this shit is mind-numbing."

Butch began to ignore her again, the irritation he felt giving him more strength to do his job all the faster. He wasn't about to argue with her. She preferred to do little to none of the prep and reap all the rewards as if she had drawn the damn plans herself; he actually enjoyed the technological side of things and taking bits and pieces of scrap, transforming it into a viable weapon to help their cause.

What concern Cassidy had displayed for him after the old headquarters exploded was short-lived. In a strange way, he was happy for that fact; experiencing her actual "nice side" weirded him out even more than helping the boss with the Pokemon that destroyed HQ in the first place. Scientifically engineered Pokemon he could handle; his bitch of a partner cooing at him and waiting on him was the _real_ freak show.

Realizing that he was taking the childish way out of their disagreement, she rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, walking out without saying a word. She was _going_ to tell him that his precious little Jessie had somehow gotten her way inside and that she looked like a bog threw up on her; but he had to sit there and hold his breath until he turned blue, giving her the silent treatment like a little baby. It was times like these when she wondered what the hell she ever saw in him to begin with. Sure, there was the sex but that was nothing a rough ride down a rugged dirt road in a car with bad shocks couldn't accomplish for her just as easily. She hoped that he got his act together before they left for their assignment on Mandarin Island. Screwing up a mission once was more than enough for her.

"Cassidy?"

She was blinked out of her thoughts by the human resources girl, Wendy. "What? Yeah. Hi."

Jessie wasn't the only person Cassidy had conflict with in the organization and as a result had met with Wendy several times to discuss her behavior. The third time she was sent to HR, she mentioned something in passing about her magenta-haired rival and from then on she and Wendy had a bond over their intense and (in her new "friend"'s case) irrational hatred of the girl. Cassidy nearly fell out of her chair when Wendy revealed that her intense dislike stemmed from the fact that she still owed her money for a smoothie. She made a mental note that day not to get on this bitch's bad side.

Wendy smiled at her. "You can't call the scientists..." She pulled out a clipboard from underneath her arm to glance at it and then placed it back, "...'fucking virgins'." She shrugged a little. "But you know that. No one can say I didn't talk to you about it, though."

Cassidy leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, snorting. "Well, you've seen them. Listen, I had one show up in the laundry room while I was waiting for my uniform to dry, right? So I'm leaning against one of the machines in my underwear, reading this magazine, and I swear the guy nearly had a stroke."

Raising an eyebrow slightly, Wendy commented, "Well, you shouldn't be hanging around in public places in your panties, either."

She rolled her eyes in response and continued, "For being '_doctors_' and everything, they sure have a problem handling the female body." Stretching against the wall, she murmured through a yawn, "Then again, what male doesn't?"

Wendy laughed and leaned forward, nudging her in the side. "Master Giovanni, obviously."

She blinked at her a few times before gasping, her eyes widening. "Have you - with the _boss_?!" she whispered loudly.

Blinking as well now, she shook her head and frowned. "What? No. You did. I mean...that's why you're getting all these assignments despite the failure of the breeding center, isn't it?"

Cassidy clenched her teeth and fists, stepping away from the wall and narrowing her eyes at the green-haired Rocket before her. "Where _the fuck_ did you hear that shit?! You don't talk to Jessie, so I know it wasn't her."

Glancing around and bringing the clipboard to her chest, hugging it and taking a step back from her friend, she answered cautiously, "No one told me. I saw it with my own eyes."

Shortening the gap between them, Cassidy growled, "I _think_ I would have _remembered_ something like that."

Frown growing, her eyes suddenly widened and she swallowed hard, laughing nervously. "Right. Right. Of course. I don't know what I was thinking -"

"You're not a fucking idiot, Wendy," she spat. "You wouldn't say this shit if you didn't have good reason to. So 'fess the fuck up!"

Averting her gaze, she swallowed again, grip tightening on her clipboard. "I - I didn't think you were _that_ messed up! If I had any idea, I would have..." Wendy trailed off and looked down at the floor. "I probably still would have let it happen, just because our Master Giovanni is so..." She trailed off again and glanced up at the confused blonde. "You came down to the club that one night and drank and snorted shit like a champ. I was there with a few other high-ranking Rockets and...well..."

"Giovanni," Cassidy interjected.

Wendy nodded and continued, "Right. Sometimes he needs to let off some steam, too...and the club was his idea in the first place -"

"I don't care," she growled, reaching out and grabbing the clipboard from her and throwing it to the ground, the metal crashing against the lineoleum, echoing down the hall. "_Tell me_ what happened."

Nodding vigorously, she tucked her hair behind her ears. "Um...um, okay. It had to be really late - like two in the morning? - and that stun spore stuff everyone was snorting...may or may not have been laced with something else." Taking another step back, she said quietly, "I swear I didn't know when I bought it and gave it to you guys. It wasn't until I told the guy I get it from how crazy everyone was acting that he told me -"

"_I still don't care_," Cassidy said, clenching her fists even tighter.

"Right! Of course. Okay, um...to the point, there was this crazy..." She paused, searching for a better word than the one that came to mind and finding none, going with her original thought, "um, orgy I guess you could call it. In the showers in the locker room." She laughed slightly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Pretty funny right? Like, the biggest HR violation ever and I'm right there, still sober enough to totally appreciate the irony." Noting Cassidy's unamused glare, Wendy took a deep breath and kept on, talking faster now than before, "So I was going around with my phone, getting video for possible blackmail -"

"Classy," Cassidy said flatly.

Wendy shrugged a little. "I didn't say I was _proud_ of it...but anyway, I see Master Giovanni and put my phone away. I'm not crazy enough to get _that_ on film and expect to live! But..." She bit her lip, color seeping into her cheeks, "...I guess I was curious, that's all. About who he was doing and...well, if I could see anything good. You know what I mean, ri-"

"_Yes_!"

"Okay, okay. So I'm behind these lockers and I look around and see you pressed up against that wall that separates the bathroom stalls from the locker room? You know the one?"

"I _fucking know_, Wendy!"

Nodding again, she ran her hands back through her hair nervously. "You were pressed up against that thing with your skirt hiked up, panties around your ankles and what had to be, like...the _best_ 'o' face I have ever seen in my entire life."

Her clenched teeth were more out of necessity than anger now, fighting back the increasing urge to fall to her knees and sob. "And...it was the boss..."

Another nod and averted gaze. "I swear I thought you knew. I mean, maybe at the time you did and then -"

Cassidy closed the gap between them entirely, grabbing her by the collar of her uniform and meeting her dark brown eyes with her watery lavender ones and giving her a good, hard shake. "_No one_ finds out about this. If anyone says _one fucking word_ to me about it, you're dead." She let go with a shove to the ground, kicking her clipboard to her. "You get me?"

Wendy gulped and grabbed her clipboard, scrambling to her feet quickly. "I - I would never, Cassidy! You don't have to worry!"

"_I'm_ not the one who should be worried," she sneered, hitting her in the shoulder with her own as she walked past.

Watching as she made her way down the hall, Wendy put a hand to her head and let out a heavy breath. "I am really not good at this job."

* * *

><p>Fiddling with the buttons on the machine, Butch glanced back at his oddly quiet partner. "You got that Drowzee ready?"<p>

Cassidy was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, staring down at the floor with an intensity he'd only ever seen her give Jessie. She hadn't been herself for days and, while at first the silence and brooding was a welcome relief, it was now becoming something that concerned him - as much as he could be concerned with her, at least.

Anyone could say what they wanted about her but Butch had to respect the fact that despite...well, just about everything about her, she was no ditz. She was sharp - sometimes _too_ sharp - and devious, manipulative to the core. That's what made her sudden flightiness so strange. She wanted the mission to succeed so badly to prove to the boss that they didn't need to be babysat by him to get a job done; yet the only way he could bring her back to Earth was to snap his fingers in front of her face and yell something vaguely insulting in her ear.

Seemingly lost in her own world once again, he sighed and went over to her, only needing to snap his fingers once - loudly - to get her attention. "Do you. Have the Drowzee. Ready."

"Oh, right," she said with a blink, reaching to her waistband and pulling out a Pokeball, enlarging it and tossing it up in the air. Emerging from the red beam of light was a Drowzee they had acquired from the breeding center scheme. It looked and sounded pretty much how she felt.

After instructing the Drowzee to climb the machine and get into the glass chamber at the top, Butch glanced at Cassidy again. "This isn't rocket science - I can do it by myself if you need -"

"Don't tell me what I need," she growled in reply, brushing past him to the machine. "You know how this trash heap works, go get that Drowzee plugged in so we can get this over with."

"Somebody's anxious to impress the boss," he mumbled as he walked by, climbing the machine himself and setting the Pokemon up for their plan.

Eyes lowered to the floor again, she retorted, "Excuse me for not wanting to fail again."

In actuality, she wanted this particular mission to be a success so badly because it would put any question of the validity of their rank and assignments to rest. Wendy remained the only one that knew about her disturbing night of passion with the boss and Cassidy knew she had scared her in to shutting the hell up; it was Cassidy herself that needed the doubts in her head to go away.

* * *

><p>James and Meowth both cringed at the sound of the cabin door being slammed shut behind them, exchanging wary looks.<p>

Jessie stood in front of the door, arms crossed, silently seething at her two teammates; silent seething was the worst kind of Jessie-related seething. Tapping her foot against the wood floor, she changed the glare on her face when she raised an eyebrow, looking between the two boys. Sighing much louder and with more exasperation than necessary, she dropped her arms to her sides. "What. The. _Fuck_?!"

The two cringed again, James slowly daring to turn around and face her. "We - we just...didn't think it was right to try to steal their Pokemon after that girl -"

"Who _cares_ what's right?!" She walked over to him and flicked him in the forehead - twice, for good measure. "We're _cri-min-als_!" She began to pace back and forth, hands flying every which way as her berating continued, "Apparently I can't get sick ever again because if I do, you two _morons_ can't take a hold of your balls and _step up_! What if I was really hurt by that stupid Vileplume? You two would be up shit creek without me! Hell, you didn't even find the Salveyo Weed yourselves! That twerpette felt so bad for you and what a fucking _joke_ you both are that she _gave_ it to you! Do you have any idea how _embarrassing_ that is?"

"Not as embarrassin' as dis," Meowth muttered.

"We don't make deals with the twerps unless we're all together as a _team_!"

Putting a hand to the back of his neck, James glanced down at the floor and Jessie's makeshift bed. "To be fair, you weren't quite yourself anyway."

Not pacing for a moment, she turned her attention to James. "Even when my brain is melting, I would know better than to get help from the twerps!"

He frowned, looking up at her through strands of periwinkle hair. "You were really sick, Jessie. Did you want us to continue looking around the whole island for the Salveyo Weed? You could've been...I mean, you were here all by yourself and if something happened -"

Taking a deep breath, Jessie shut her eyes and put her hand to her forehead. "You are _such_ a baby." She felt her face growing warm again, rubbing her eyes with both hands and shaking her head. Those two idiots were getting her riled up again - a fact that she was about to be more than pleased to share with them when dizziness overtook her, making her less solid on the ground and instead wobble in unsteadiness.

James frowned more, taking a step toward her, hearing her grumble something about "all your fault" and "delicate flower" (which he assumed was in reference to herself and not the Vileplume.) As he was about to open his mouth to ask if she was okay, she began to fall over like a rotting tree, body still too weak to withstand her normal degree of rage.

James ran over and caught her just before she hit the ground, kneeling down with her and letting panic take him over. Looking up at Meowth, he frantically screeched, "I thought you said she would be okay!"

Meowth made a face at how inhumanly piercing James's voice had become, sticking one of his fingers in his ear and wiggling it to make sure he could still actually hear. "She should be! We gave her da stuff!"

"Well then why isn't she?!"

"Don't look at Meowth! I ain't qualified for dis kinda ting!" He paused in thought while James set Jessie back down on the blankets strewn about the floor. Suddenly the Pokemon snapped its fingers and then smacked himself with his own paw. "We really are da densest of da dense!"

Rushing into the tiny kitchen that connected to the living area, Meowth hopped up on a stool that was still in place by the stove from earlier. He looked down into the pot and grinned, pointing at it. "We still got some! Maybe she just didn't get enough! Dose Vileplume can be real nasty."

"Tell me about it," James mumbled, removing her boots, gloves, and jacket. Looking down at her worriedly, he said, "We'll just have to get her to take the rest of it."

Meowth snorted, pouring the rest of the broth into a bowl. "_You_ gotta get her to take da rest of it, ya mean."

"_Fine_! Just hurry up!"

Shooting him a glare, he held out the bowl from his perch on the stool. "Ya want I should spill dis everywheres?! Come get it!"

Groaning in annoyance, he quickly stood and grabbed the bowl from his partner, returning his glare before sitting back down next to Jessie. He bit his lip, placing a hand on her forehead, making a face at the heat that was emanating from it. He looked back at Meowth, who was jumping down from the stool. "She's really hot, Meowth. I - I think she needs another one of those cool washcloths. Do you think you could -"

Meowth waved a hand at him and said nothing, going into the bathroom and hopping up on the sink.

He turned his attention back to Jessie, her face scrunched up in what James thought had to be either discomfort or a reaction to the smell of the Salveyo Weed. Sliding his arm underneath her, he lifted her upper body and put the bowl to her lips. "C'mon, Jess...I know it's probably really awful but you have to." He swallowed hard, using his arm to pull her closer, repeating quietly to himself, "You just have to."

Returning with the washcloth, Meowth gently placed it on his companion's forehead and patted her head affectionately. "She ain't eatin' it?"

James shook his head, not taking his eyes off of her. "We have to wake her up."

"Just do some of dat girly screamin' you was doin' before. Dat'll wake a Snorlax."

Scowling, he began to protest when he was happily distracted by a quiet moan soon followed by movement. James let out a breath of relief, adjusting her against his body and reaching to brush some sweat-soaked hair from her forehead. "Hey, you need to eat this to feel better."

Jessie scowled as well, eying the bowl through a disorienting fog that had settled over her head. "We did this already."

"Yeah...I - I know but...we think maybe you didn't get enough."

"Or ya shouldn'ta run off after dose twerps instead of restin' some more!"

James gave Meowth a quiet scolding with his eyes, making him sigh and sit next to Jessie on the side opposite James. Lifting the bowl to her lips again, green eyes looking down at her pleadingly, he said softly, "Please? For me?"

Another weak groan of protest was followed by the sounds of slurping - sounds that only stopped long enough for her to lift her hand to her nose and pinch it shut, making the broth slightly more tolerable. Finishing the bowl, she shoved at James half-heartedly and squirmed from his arms, rolling over onto her side and mumbling, "Go away now."

* * *

><p>One eye slowly opening and immediately squinting shut again at the sunlight that came in through the front window, Jessie rolled over and opened both eyes to blink at her sleeping partner next to her. She tilted her head in confusion at what appeared to be a note stuck to his forehead, the very bottom starting to accumulate drool. Carefully removing it, she opened it and inwardly lamented at the sight of Meowth's terrible handwriting. She couldn't really fault him - he <em>was<em> a Pokemon, after all. She managed to make out the words "look" "berries" "food" "soon" and, of course, his signature which consisted of his paw print.

It was then she realized that she felt gross beyond the telling of it, running a hand back through her hair and sticking her tongue out in distaste at the feel of it. She remembered that James and Meowth had gotten what they needed to make her feel better. She then remembered going after the twerps and throwing a fit over her partners not wanting to bug the girl that had so selflessly helped them out. What she didn't remember was whether or not the latter two things actually happened or if she was only dreaming. Evidence pointed more to dreaming as, once again, she was on the floor in her blankets like she had never been well again at all. She would ask James once she got out of a much-needed and appreciated shower.

Clean, quite possibly happy, and in her fresh nightgown, Jessie emerged from the bathroom combing out her long magenta locks - a process that took longer than even she cared to admit. Padding around the kitchen, she wrinkled her nose at the lingering smell of the broth from the dirty pot and bowl in the sink. She thought about actually washing them up, if only to rid the cabin of the stench, but shrugged the idea away and went back to join James on the floor. She had been sick, damnit - let Meowth do the dishes. She'd let him try to battle Lickitung earlier in the day to keep her word of giving him more experience so that he could learn pay day - technically, he still owed her. James was likely the one that did most of the work with the Salveyo Weed.

Still combing out her hair, she glanced to her side at the drooling man-boy beside her. It was at the sight of him that the thick fog in her brain lifted and she suddenly remembered that, much to her dismay, she actually _had_ been pretty awful to both him and Meowth. Most things after her ranting and raving were still blurry in her mind's eye but the one thing she recalled perfectly was James looking down at her, so much worry written on his face that it would have given anyone that looked at him a sympathy ulcer.

She sighed softly, setting her comb down and reaching down to brush his hair from his eyes. The nagging that something was wrong with her crept into the back of her mind, the memories of how much of a bitch she could be to him replaying over and over...and yet she still expected...well, _this_ when she needed it.

Biting her lip, she glanced at the door and back to James. It would've been easier if she knew when Meowth had left; at least _then_ she could guesstimate when he would return and avoid his disgusted response. Provided there was anything to be disgusted _about_, of course. She was getting ahead of herself.

One last look at the door before she returned her attention to James, putting a hand on his cheek and leaning down, brushing her lips against his. She made a face at the drool and moved her hand to wipe it away from his chin with one of the blankets.

He stirred as she did this, rolling over onto his back and stretching, letting out a loud yawn. Rubbing his eyes, his sleepy face brightened when he saw her up and seemingly well again. Sliding his arms around her waist, he pulled her close and squeezed, burying his face in her wet hair. "I was so worried! I don't know what we would've done if you didn't get better." James pulled back, brow furrowed. "We would probably have to go to the twerps and I know how much you hate -"

Jessie leaned in once more, putting every intent she had behind the kiss she placed on his lips. She slid her arms around his neck and used the leverage to pull herself into his lap. Feeling his lips moving against hers, trying to say something, she pulled away, putting one hand on his chest and using it to push him back down to the floor.

James had to wonder if he'd somehow managed to catch Jessie's fever. It was only a few hours ago that she wanted to pummel him into dust and now she was waking him up to...jump his bones? Still staring at her, he swallowed hard when she began to undo his pants, unsure of what to do. There was no doubt now that she did, in fact, want to jump his bones; but why? He would feel terrible if it was a side-effect of the Salveyo Weed and he went along with her, only to have it bite him in the butt.

Tugging down his pants to around his knees, she hooked her thumbs underneath the elastic waist of his boxers, giving him a devilish grin. When he opened his mouth to try and talk her into slowing things down, she covered it with her hand. "Shut up, James." Brushing her fingers across his lips as she moved her hand away, she moved back to his shorts, starting to give them a tug but being stopped by his hands grabbing hers.

Her heart stopped as the realization of what was happening sunk in. It wasn't like he didn't want her - the proof of that was inside that pair of underwear she was still clinging onto. Then again, maybe it was a fluke. Boys could get hard at the drop of a hat - or so it seemed to her in her experiences; she _was_ on top of him, after all.

She turned her head from him and tried to pull her hands away from his, only to have him hold them even tighter. What the hell was his game? Couldn't he just reject her and let her go crawl into a hole and die from humiliation in peace?

He squeezed her hands and swallowed again, desperately trying to ignore the growing bulge in his pants that her hands just happened to be right above. "I - I want to make sure you really want to."

Once again realization took hold of her and she spun her head back to meet his eyes. They were so full of concern and uneasiness, love and desire. Here she was thinking the worst of him when, once again, he was just James being James. When would she ever start to believe that he really _wasn't_ like the rest?

She bit her lip, trying to display in her eyes the same tapestry of emotions that he did in his. "Why would I not want to?" she asked quietly.

James shifted underneath her, the way she looked at him in that moment making doing the right, gentlemanly thing even more difficult. "Maybe the Salveyo Weed did something."

"You think a weed that a Poliwag collects is an aphrodisiac?" she asked incredulously.

He shrugged, letting go of her hands and letting his slowly slide up her thighs. "You never know..."

Jessie couldn't help but laugh despite how badly her body wanted her to simply just moan at his touch, urging his hands higher without saying a single word. "I don't like to repeat myself, so listen." Pulling down his boxers in one swift movement, she grinned down at him. "Shut. Up. James."

His hands reached her hips, nightgown tugged up at the sides. Eyes widening at the distinct lack of underwear, he stared once again at the insatiable girl on top of him, being met with another grin and a sparkle in her eyes that he hadn't seen in a very long time. He missed her sparkle when it wasn't there.

She was unable to be bothered with taking off all their clothes, already more than prepared - and if Meowth popped in as he was wont to do, it would be slightly less...really, it was mostly the first thing, who was she kidding?

* * *

><p>Humming cheerfully as he made his way back to the cabin, basket full of berries, Meowth couldn't help but wonder if his mood would be dampened by the dark cloud that was Jessie as soon as he went inside.<p>

He stood at the bottom of the steps and looked at the door with slight dread. If she wasn't better, James would be in a mood, too and blame him for everything - nevermind that Jessie was the dumb one that fell into a Vileplume in the first place.

He let out a heavy sigh and resigned to his fate, going up the steps, stopping again when he reached the front door. The dread grew with the sound of voices inside - loud ones - and he assumed that Jessie was still on a rampage.

Putting his paw on the door, he was about to push it open when the _real_ reason there was so much noise inside hit his ears like a screech attack. He froze in place for a few minutes before experiencing a full-body shudder at the moans that would now likely haunt his dreams.

Meowth went back down the steps and sat down on the bottom one, putting his head in his paws. He glanced over at the basket of berries and for the first time in recent memory, he actually wasn't hungry. "So much for ever wantin' to eat again."


	22. Sex and Rare Candy

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Squirming uncomfortably in the chair next to Butch, Cassidy desperately tried to think of positive reasons that the boss would want to see them. Their mission had been foiled by not only those rotten brats but Jessie and James as well. Since when did those rejects ever try to do the right thing? She was convinced none of them would know what "the right thing" was in any given situation. Why wasn't the boss berating <em>those<em> idiots for interfering with their own damn organization's job? They always seemed to luck out.

She glanced down at her skirt and shifted again, trying to pull it down as far as the fabric would allow. There was another reason that she thought the boss might want to see them...but that reason was far less likely than the one where they get screamed at for incompetence for an hour. Still, that didn't mean she had to show him any more than he'd already seen - if he even remembered seeing it.

As the days passed after her chat with Wendy, Cassidy vaguely began to recall _some_ of that night. She had found a huge bruise on her back the day after and it only made her more curious as to what she'd gotten up to the night before - she certainly had her answer now.

Cassidy hadn't seen the boss in person since finding out what had happened between them. For once in her life she was actually telling herself that she thought far too highly of herself, the boss likely having forgotten the whole thing a long time ago - again, if he remembered at all.

What most concerned her about the whole thing was that the moment she remembered more clearly than any other was when he first thrust himself into her. She could almost hear his voice against her ear once again, asking her if she would be willing to do anything for Team Rocket. Being fucked up against a wall didn't make for the best situation for decision-making, wasted or not. She remembered tilting her head back and moaning, somehow managing to get out a breathy, "Yes, sir."

Shuddering suddenly at the memory, she glanced over at Butch. He was looking back at her, eyebrow raised. Immediately she turned away from him. She wasn't sure _why_ she cared so much - after all, he certainly didn't seem to give much of a shit about her lately - and yet she kept the whole thing from him and felt guilty about it, at that. What did she have to feel guilty about, really? She wasn't dating Butch. She didn't cheat on him. When it came to her relationship (or lack thereof) with her partner, screwing the boss really didn't and _shouldn't_ matter. So why did it?

"You okay?"

Cassidy nearly jumped out of her chair, startled by the gravelly voice that cut through the silence. Still avoiding his eyes, she tugged at her skirt again. "Just want to get this over with."

"Think we're about to get reamed?"

She shrugged, tapping her foot against the floor. "Seems pretty fucking likely, wouldn't you say?"

Matching her shrug, he rested back against the chair and crossed his arms. "Same deal as with the breeding center - wasn't our fault, couldn't be helped. He gave us a bunch of important missions after that, remember?"

"Of course I do," she spat. "Unfortunately, this is our _second_ time failing and we cost Team Rocket a shit ton of money by managing to get that machine blown up. So to answer your question: _yes_, Butch - we're about to get reamed."

Opening his mouth to shoot back at her, he quickly closed it when the door opened and Giovanni walked in. As his Persian followed, he silently made his way around his desk and sat down in the chair. Persian took its usual place by his side.

After eying both Rockets (an action that nearly made Cassidy throw up), he broke the silence. "I know that you two have your..._issues_ with Jessie and James," he began, the partners glancing out of the corners of their eyes at each other, "but, given what has happened recently, I would like to ask you both a question."

"Yes, sir?" they asked in unison, Cassidy immediately flushing and looking down.

He leaned forward, placing his hands on his desk and folding them together. "Is it _possible_ that perhaps they aren't as incompetent as they seem? After all," Giovanni sat back, dark eyes cold and emotionless; Cassidy could feel herself ready to gag again. "You two are currently my top agents and yet _somehow_ managed to be bested by the same _children_ that have been giving them such trouble. Is it _possible_ that you've been coasting along all this time and when it comes to executing a mission wherein I _expect_ you to bring me back Pokemon, you fall _extremely_ short?"

"No, sir," Butch replied with a sternness in his voice that Cassidy had only ever heard when he was telling her what an awful person she was.

Giovanni turned to her and leaned forward once again. "And you?"

She shook her head. "No, sir."

Keeping his gaze on her for a few more seconds, he sat back once more, a hand dropping to the side to scratch his beloved Persian's ears. "You do both realize that I'm not a fucking _idiot_, yes?"

The partners blinked in confusion and then nodded. Cassidy tugged at her skirt.

He sighed and shook his head. "There's a _reason_ that I forbid partners from getting involved romantically with each other. _This_ happens to be that reason."

"Sir, I don't know -"

Giovanni put a hand up to silence him. "Let me finish, Bart." Butch slumped slightly in his seat, not daring to try to correct him now. "You two were sleeping together and - for whatever asinine reason it may be - had a falling out." He narrowed his eyes at his agents. "Let me be _perfectly_ clear: I don't care what happened. I'm not going to mend your broken hearts. You handle _your_ business on _your_ time - not mine." Looking down at his Persian that was purring softly, he continued, "I should fire you both for letting your personal bullshit get in the way of doing your _fucking job _but I'm feeling especially generous today."

Butch let out a breath of relief. "Thank you very much, sir. We won't let you down again."

"Not for quite some time, no. You won't." Standing up and walking to the front of his desk, he explained, "My assistant Matori is in Viridian City, overseeing the construction of the new headquarters. Batch, I've heard good things from the scientists about your abilities in regards to building things." Butch sat up a little straighter and nodded, trying to hide the smile on his face and failing. "I'm sending you to assist in Viridian." Giovanni turned his attention to Cassidy - much to her dismay. "As I'm without an assistant for the time being, you'll stay here and take over for Matori while she's away."

"You're splitting us up?" Butch asked.

"For now," he replied, leaning back against the desk. "I think time away might do you both a bit of good. Quite frankly, I can see how either one of you could want to strangle the other."

"I don't think that's the right way to handle this," Cassidy blurted out, immediately pursing her lips after.

Both Butch and Giovanni looked at her, her partner now trying to hide the anger that was rising inside of him. "Is that so?"

"I - I just -" She looked helplessly at Butch and then wished she hadn't - he wasn't hiding his emotions very well. Shutting her eyes and lowering her head, she conceded quietly, "Whatever you think is best, sir."

He smirked slightly, reveling just a little in her discomfort before addressing Butch, "You head off for Kanto tomorrow. Go get packed."

He nodded and stood, saluting his boss and turning toward the door. Cassidy stood as well, attempting to follow but felt only dread when she was beckoned back by Giovanni. Sending another look of help in Butch's direction, he seemed to ignore it and slammed the door to the boss's office behind him. She was alone with him; she wanted to cease to exist.

Crossing his arms, smirk growing, Giovanni asked in the same voice of faux-concern that Cassidy had mastered when teasing Jessie, "Are you all right, Cassidy? You don't seem to be yourself."

She forced a smile and nodded, taking a step back toward the door. "Of course, sir. Yes, sir. I'm under the weather, that's all."

"And yet you still try to tough it out." He shook his head and locked eyes with her, genuinely getting a kick out of the fear in her eyes. "I guess you really _would_ do anything for Team Rocket."

Swallowing hard, she shook her head quickly. "I - I don't - I wasn't -"

"Do you know that I'm sleeping with Matori?" he asked as if conducting a perfectly normal conversation. Smiling as she blinked and shook her head again, he meandered to the small table in the corner of the room where a bottle of...well, he didn't know and didn't particularly care what kind of booze it was...sat with glasses and a bucket of ice. It wasn't his beloved minibar but it would do. "And, if you'll recall, I do believe I said something about you taking over for her."

Cassidy stared at him, mouth hanging open slightly. This was the other reason she thought he might want to see them; the crazy, outlandish reason that would never happen because he would never remember what happened anyway.

She wished she had been right.

Pouring two glasses of booze - one in ice and one without - he carried them over to her and handed her the iced one. "You said that you would do anything for Team Rocket, didn't you?"

Tentatively taking the drink, she tried to keep her hands from shaking, knocking the ice against the glass. "I - I was very -"

He took a sip of his drink. "Things like alcohol and drugs...they tend to make people lose their inhibitions. No thought of consequences - just of pleasure, doing things that you may have always wanted but were too scared to even consider." He stepped closer to her and took another sip, smirking after. "Do you recall at all the way every male in our merry band kept trying to get you out of your panties?" She shook her head and took a step back, only to have him grab her arm and pull him to her. "You could've had any one of them if you only wanted to fuck. Instead, _I _ was the one that got those panties off of you." Leaning in to her, matching nose for nose, he growled lowly, "And you loved every second of it."

Cassidy shook her head again and shut her eyes, turning her head away from him. "I didn't know what I was doing! It - it shouldn't have happened!"

Shaking her once by the grip on her arm, he replied, "But it did. And now I want you to make good on what you said."

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, hoping that maybe if she tried hard enough that she could make herself disappear from this horrible moment. "I didn't know -"

He let go of her and stepped back, downing the rest of his drink. "Doing anything for Team Rocket would, in fact, include your partner."

Opening her eyes, she looked up at him, another shudder running down her spine at the grin she received in return. "I don't understand..."

"By doing this simple thing for me, you're saving your partner from losing his job." Giovanni went back to the drink station, making himself another. "And from what I understand, being fired from Team Rocket has never worked out in his family's favor."

"Are you...are you saying that if I don't -"

Turning around quickly to face her, his patience began to wear thin. It wasn't fucking rocket science, after all. "I get to fuck you whenever I like as long as you're my assistant and in return, your partner keeps his job - and gets to keep on living. Do you understand _now_, Cassidy?" he sneered.

Everything came back to that single question that plagued her: why did she care about Butch? He had been a complete and total asshole to her ever since their fight, why did she give a damn whether he lived or died? Giovanni was right - she _could_ have any Rocket she wanted if she just wanted to screw somebody for some tension relief; why did she waste most of her training thinking of ways to get Butch to cheat on Jessie? Why did she feel so...empty when he stopped sleeping with her? Why did the thought of him being killed make her need to fight back tears? _Who gave a damn_ what happened to him?

"I can see this is a very difficult decision," Giovanni said, interrupting her thoughts. "You don't have to start work until tomorrow so...please, by all means, take the night and think about it." His face became dark, his voice lowered, "Truly _think_ about this, Cassidy."

She nodded and bolted for the door, unable to get out of there fast enough. Looking at her hand and noticing she still had the glass he'd poured for her, she downed it in one gulp and slammed the glass down on what had become Matori's makeshift work station. She was screwed - in more ways than one.

* * *

><p>Laying in her bed and staring across the room at Butch as he got ready for bed himself, Cassidy bit her lip. Maybe if she had some kind of closure the decision would be easier to make. Maybe if he was an epic dick to her and that was the last thing on her mind before he left, she could say no to Giovanni and fuck whatever happened to Butch after that. She was wasting more than enough time on him anyway.<p>

She propped herself up on her elbow and tried to ignore how muscular his arms had become - probably from all that work on the Drowzee machine. "So, are we ever going to have sex again or what?" she asked, her tone not at all reflecting the way she was feeling and the thoughts running through her mind.

After slipping a shirt on, he turned to face her and raised an eyebrow. "_Really_?"

Cassidy shrugged a little. "What if a hot little newbie starts coming around? If I knew that when you got back we'd never leave our room for a week then I can control myself." Glancing down at the sheets, it took all of her will to keep her voice bitchy and blasé. "If you're still _done_, as I recall you saying, then it's safe to say that I can screw around with anybody I want, right?"

He simply stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief. Shaking his head, he started laughing to himself as he crawled into his bed, putting his back to her again. "Never thought you were the monogamous type, Cass."

Was that a tiny glimmer of hope she saw? "I might be a slut, but at least I'm a loyal one."

Butch snorted in response, pulling the covers over himself. "Well, I know that if some hot young thing comes up to _me_, I won't be thinking about hurting _your _feelings - provided they exist."

Obviously the glimmer of hope was only in her imagination. "Great. Glad we have that cleared up."

"Wouldn't have been able to go on with my life if we didn't," he retorted dryly.

Rolling over herself and putting her back to him now, she curled up under the sheets and squeezed her eyes shut. Great, he did exactly what she wanted him to do and still she wasn't sure what would come out of her mouth when she saw Giovanni the next day.

* * *

><p>The snickering of her rival at the sight of her behind a desk, tapping a pen against it, made Cassidy want to jam said pen right in Jessie's eye. She probably would have, too, if not for the fact that she knew the boss was giving them the go-ahead for a trip to Johto - to get rid of them for a while, she imagined.<p>

The haughty look on her frenemy's face when they emerged from Giovanni's office made her willpower waver even more, gripping the pen in her hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white. At least if she blinded the stupid bitch her team of losers would have an actual _reason_ for their constant failure. As fun as disfiguring Jessie's face sounded, the thought that it might be used to her advantage in any way was enough to make her put the pen back down and let her catty remarks roll off her back.

She even went so far as to sit and listen - though not without a yawn or five - to Jessie brag about almost stealing all the Pokeballs Professor Oak had at his lab. Unable to help herself, Cassidy pointed out that _almost_ was the key word there. She was ignored anyway as Jessie went on to explain how impressed the boss was with the fact that they could even get within the laboratory's gates and that not even some of the finest agents ever to grace the organization had accomplished that feat.

James finally pulled his partner away, giving Cassidy an apologetic look that would've earned him a good smack had Jessie caught it. She smiled back slightly and wondered how in the world he ever put up with that girl. It was probably the same question those two asked when it came to her and Butch with the big exception that they actually had an answer for that one: he _didn't _put up with her. James was simply too sweet (and probably afraid) to stand up to Jessie. She hoped that he was getting laid, at least, because if _that_ was Jessie with sex, how terrible would she be without it?

Idly, she wondered what had ever happened to that brooding boy that showed up at headquarters one day and turned everything upside down. _He_ certainly didn't take any shit from Jessie. His big mistake was ever forgiving the little brat for whatever the hell it was they were both so upset about. He lost the upper hand the second that happened. She could relate - losing the upper hand to Butch made her feel just a little more passive toward him. He would never notice himself but she had been actively trying to bite her tongue for a long time - look how spectacularly _that_ turned out. Spectacular for him, maybe.

And for Giovanni.

There were plenty of things in her life at the moment that she could feel shitty about; the one currently plaguing her was her situation with the boss.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that she was cringing at the thought of sleeping with him and was thoroughly freaked out by his inappropriate proposition. At first it _was_ a little cringe-worthy, prompting her to freak out even more. How was she supposed to keep this up when feeling him inside of her made her want to burst into tears? There was a point where she wished he would just drug her and do whatever he wanted while she was out - ignorance was bliss.

As days turned into weeks, Cassidy found herself resigned to her fate, assuming the position against his desk almost daily - sometimes without him even asking, much to his delight; that should have been a red flag right then and there.

The problem, she surmised, was that she let herself accept what was happening, giving herself no reason to be distracted during by waves of panic and slight nausea. Once she began to actually pay attention, she found herself _enjoying_ it, even orgasming with him; she had always faked it up until Butch, deciding that those losers didn't deserve the privilege of seeing her get off. When it came to Butch (and now the boss) she really had no choice in the matter. It was one thing to let herself be that vulnerable with her partner (not that she particularly _liked_ being that vulnerable); but _the boss_?

There were now three times where she had just jumped him herself, a fact that mortified her. Cassidy could say with total and complete certainty that it wasn't because she had feelings for him but that he was simply fulfilling a need. Even Pokemon had sex, after all. It was nature being nature; and after so much time screwing Butch to get her fix, she found herself in withdrawal mode - especially given how stressed she'd been lately with no outlet for any of that pent-up tension.

Romantic it was not but she couldn't say that Butch lit candles and threw rose petals on the bed, either. Spinning around in her desk chair one day, she came to the realization that every sexual encounter she'd ever had was along the rough and dirty line, not the sweet romantic one. She had never been with anyone because she cared about them and wanted to share that and show them physically - she scoffed at the idea; to her, sex was about satisfaction for yourself and if the other person got off, too then good for them.

Giovanni seemed particularly in agreement with her on that point, surprised when she came the first time, stating point-blank that he wasn't even thinking about _her_. She liked to think that since then he tried just a little bit when he thought of it but for the most part, she was a glorified blow-up doll. How in the _world_ could she possibly find enjoyment in being treated like the big whore everyone thought she was? She chose not to consider the fact that what she was doing could, essentially, be labelled prostitution. Labels only mattered when it came to clothes.

His office at the Orange Islands headquarters had been christened and then some. Cassidy wondered if the boss was in the same position with Matori as she was with Butch. She could've sworn that there were a few times he started to moan out something starting with an "M" but caught himself.

She also found herself wondering if she was the only one he had "replacing" Matori. The first name that popped into her head was one that prompted the cringing to return: Jessie. It made perfect sense that she would be screwing him to keep her job. Sure, Cassidy was doing the very same thing, but at least she and Butch were _good_ at their jobs. What would Team Rocket really be missing out on if those three just so happened to fall off the face of the Earth?

Finding him in a good mood to start with one day, only to have it brighten considerably after a quickie against his desk, she asked as casually as possible as she pulled her panties back up, "Am I the only girl around here that you're banging?"

Still catching his breath as he sat down in his desk chair, he glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are we jealous?"

Cassidy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Of course not. I was just...wondering if there was anyone else in the same position."

He made himself comfortable and shut his eyes, resting his head back against the large leather-upholstered chair. "Bent over my desk?" He smirked to himself.

She sighed in a huff and eyed him for a moment, the smirk still on his lips, his face and body seeming completely content for moment. Placing both hands on the desk and leaning forward, she came out and asked, "Are you fucking Jessie?"

Giovanni's eyes shot open as he sat up, body stiffening. "_Excuse me_?"

"Are you? I mean why else would she still be around?"

He clenched his teeth and stood, reaching across the desk to grab her by the collar of her uniform. "Why would I ever need anyone else when I have the biggest whore in all of Team Rocket at my disposal?" he spat, eyes that were once closed in serenity returning to their usual iciness.

Her time spent with the boss made her feel something else besides conflicted: defiant. She had something he wanted - desperately, at times; seeing just how far she could go (and how tightly she had him wrapped around her finger) was something unexpected that put her back into her comfort zone of having all or most of the control. It wasn't out of her recent character to demand, "Then why is she here?"

"Solely to aggravate the living hell out of you, of course," Giovanni replied, dropping his hand and sitting back down in his chair. "I'm done with you for now. Get out of here before you turn my mood truly dark." His cold eyes met hers, causing her to slowly stand from the desk and take a step back. "I don't think you'd find that especially beneficial for your health."

* * *

><p>Upon entering his office and finding his temporary assistant lounging on his couch in her lacy white bra and panties, Giovanni instructed her to get dressed immediately and go with him to his room on the very top floor of the former warehouse-turned-headquarters (though it was meager in comparison to what he had established in Viridian.) He could tell by the look on her face that she was a little shocked and wary about the whole thing so he assured her that just because they were about to actually have sex in a bed for once didn't mean that he was about to carry her over the threshold and make sweet, tender love to her. He appreciated a woman who could hear that and sigh in relief instead of pitch a fit. That appreciation was what set their whole affair in motion.<p>

He always thought Cassidy was beautiful and feisty, not averse to murdering a man in cold blood and dumping his body to be eaten by the Gyarados simply because she was told to and enjoying every minute of it. The fact that she was his daughter's "rival" (so Miyamoto claimed) oddly meant little to him; they were no longer _girls_ but _women_ - they could handle their own idiotic issues. Cassidy was one of the very last people he would ever be concerned about in terms of hurting Jessie. If anything, their competitiveness was one of the factors in why Jessie was so damn good and continued to fight for what he considered to be her rightful place in the organization. There was a huge distinction between appreciating someone's good looks and pinning them against one of the walls of your bedroom, kissing down their neck while they tore off your jacket and undid your pants. What led to that particular distinction being wiped away in Cassidy's case had less to do with her and everything to do with Miyamoto.

Since he'd attacked her, threatening to kill her the same way he had his mother - in the very same spot, no less - neither had felt especially romantic. Soon, he was preoccupied with Mewtwo and often spent the nights in his office, sleeping on the couch. He hadn't even asked her to join him when he moved to the temporary headquarters, telling her by video phone to remain in Viridian City and be his eyes and ears. It wasn't a complete lie, either - if anyone knew what he wanted and had the attitude to make it happen, it was Miyamoto. If she was upset, she didn't show it.

Mewtwo gone, the only home he'd ever known destroyed as a result, Giovanni had far too much time on his hands to sit and think. As it would with any red-blooded man lacking in companionship, his night with Cassidy rewound in his head over and over. Even then much of the reason he went after her in the first place was the way she reminded him of the drunk and disorderly Miyamoto he'd brought home that one fateful night. The more he thought about it, the more similarities he found (real or imagined, he wasn't sure and didn't care.)

His relationship with Miyamoto had been the one tolerable constant in his life. No matter how big the fight or how hurtful the names, they always came back together somehow in the end - at least, they used to. He knew he had crossed a line with her but never imagined it would result in the disintegration of a decades-long...whatever it was. If Jessie hadn't been in Team Rocket, Giovanni knew she would've left him - probably right then and there, walking out of his office and never looking back. Perturbed though he was about the drastic shift between them, there was something that not even Miyamoto could deny: Jessie would always bring them back together, for better or worse.

It was serendipitous that Cassidy and her partner happened to screw up another mission (courtesy of his son, of course - something he wasn't sure if he should feel proud of or annoyed by, given that it hindered Team Rocket's plans.) He had been trying to think of a way to get her to sleep with him again and threatening her job and her partner's seemed like the way to go. It was extreme good fortune for him that the two had become lovers and quarreled and simply divine intervention that she clearly had feelings for him. If he didn't know any better, he could swear that it was written in the stars that he should fuck this sexy ingenue; why? Because he deserved it.

Wriggling out from between his body and the wall, Cassidy grabbed him by the waist of his unbuckled pants and pulled him toward the bed, spinning him around and shoving him down on his back against the dark red satin sheets.

He rested back against his elbows, watching her as she slowly - agonizingly so - took off her gloves and boots. Reaching back, she unzipped her uniform herself and let it fall around her ankles. Her skin was almost as white as her underwear, making her look like a porcelain doll; the contradiction between her soft femininity and jagged edges intriguing him more than he would've liked. Shaking her hair out of its signature 'do, she tossed her hair back over her shoulder and moved toward him, glossy lips now smeared forming a seductive smirk.

As she crawled on top of him, he arched his hips up to meet her, hands reaching around and grabbing the perfect little ass he'd become so acquainted with in recent days. Rubbing her hands up his chest, she tugged off his tie - already half-undone - and proceeded to rip open his yellow dress shirt, a few buttons going flying. Cassidy showed no signs of being sorry and Giovanni had barely even noticed what had happened, the tips of his fingers digging into her backside while his eyes focused on the cleavage that was pressing against him.

While he shrugged out of his abused shirt, Cassidy lazily dragged her lips down his chest and stomach, realizing for the first time that all of their screwing around had been done with most of their clothes still on. That was certainly odd to think about. Her hands moving to his pants once again, one pulling his belt off while the other rubbed him through his underwear, she noticed how in shape Giovanni was - you know, for someone his age. He was no Butch but there were worse-looking bodies to have on top of you.

Giovanni arched against her touch as she pulled his pants off, hands running down to her inner thighs. Sitting up and straddling him, Cassidy undid her bra and held it out for a moment before letting it fall to the floor, her eyes locked on his. His gaze immediately flickered to her chest while his hands moved to her hips, using the grip to help flip her onto her back now.

He ran his hands up her sides, eyes scanning up and down her body. He was usually so caught up in wanting to get his rocks off that he never thought much about what might be underneath that tight uniform - the uniform itself was often more than enough for him. Her skin was soft, the pale color looking almost angelic against the dark red of the sheets. Cupping her breasts, lightly running his thumb across her nipples, he leaned in just as she gasped at the sensation, lips crushing against hers. They were still slightly sticky from the gloss and tasted like bubblegum. As his tongue explored inside her mouth, she freed him from his underwear, throwing it somewhere that didn't really matter at the moment. Breaking the kiss, he looked down and watched as he slid her panties down and off.

He wanted so badly to explore her with his fingers and tongue but the thought alone made him ache below; sure that with a single touch he would let go, he skipped the teasing foreplay entirely and thrust into her with such force, the backboard of the bed slammed against the wall.

She moaned out, hips rising up to meet his as her arms wrapped around him, nails digging into his upper back. With each thrust his muscles tightened, jaw clenched as he tried to keep it in as long as he could. Her lower body grinding up against his, she pressed her head back against the cool satin, dragging her nails down his back. He let out a low growl at the sharp sensation of pain, finding that it only urged him on even more along with the noises of pleasure echoing in his ears from underneath his body.

Every time before Giovanni found himself focusing on Miyamoto, sometimes going so far as to pretend he was actually with her; this time, he knew exactly who he was with - and liked it. Her hands falling from his back to her sides, they reached out and gripped at the sheets in frustrated ecstasy. Back arching, she moaned out again, tugging at the bed sheets as she went over the edge, her whole body stiffening, then shaking.

She had barely even started herself when the sensation hit him inside of her like a surf attack. Pressing himself as far into her as both their bodies would allow, he let go as well, moaning out her name as he did. Cassidy gasped and let out a soft moan of her own, focusing more on everything she was feeling and trying to ignore that, for the first time, he actually called _her_ name.


	23. Coming and Going

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Sprawling out in the bed, Cassidy stretched and let out a quiet groan before resting back against the pillows once again. She watched Giovanni from across the room as he made himself a drink and found her some matches for her cigarette. The troubling thought that things were getting far too comfortable between them was a fleeting one; the downright disturbing thought that she could have sworn he was actually becoming more tender with her the longer their affair went on...that one lingered for a while.<p>

They had been in the middle of discussing their respective relationships with Matori and Butch, the boss suddenly deciding he needed a drink to continue listening to her complain. It wasn't like hearing him go on and on about what a bitch Matori was being lately was the highlight of her day, either. When did they even start having pillow talk after sex, anyway? She was probably too tired once and the boss let her stay for a while - no doubt making sure that no part of her body went untouched the whole time. That explanation was satisfactory enough for her.

As Giovanni took his sweet time finding matches, Cassidy rolled onto her side, propping her head up on her hand. She had to listen to his old man bullshit - he was going to listen to hers, too. "You know what I think the real problem is with Butch?"

Making his way back over to the bed and tossing a package of matches on the sheet next to her, he downed his drink in one swift gulp. "Who?"

She narrowed her eyes and snatched the matches from their resting place before leaning over to the nightstand and grabbing her pack of cigarettes. "He's still hung up on Jessie."

Giovanni darted his eyes from the bottom of his glass to her face, watching for any hint of deception in her demeanor as she tossed her hair back over her shoulder and lit up. "Excuse me?"

After taking a slow drag and letting out a long puff of smoke, she shrugged. "I don't get it, either."

He crawled back into bed, still watching her and trying to curb the rising anger he felt bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. "I don't seem to recall having heard this before."

"You probably didn't," she replied, making herself comfortable again. "It was when we were lowly recruits. Sure, everyone _there_ knew they were screwing but it doesn't surprise me that keeping tabs on the newbies wasn't very high on your list of things to do."

Clenching his jaw and taking a sharp inhale of breath, he asked in as calm a voice as he could muster at the moment, "They had sex?"

Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she raised an eyebrow and took another drag. "Constantly. I should know - I was the bitch's roommate. Not a night went by when he wasn't plowing her. It was fucking awful."

"And what, exactly, made him stop..." He shut his eyes, voice full of disgust, "_plowing_ her?"

She shrugged again, reaching to the nightstand once again and tapping the ash off the end of her cig. "James, of course."

Eyes narrowing, fists clenching briefly, he said through grinding teeth, "_Of course_."

"It was pretty hilarious, actually," she recalled, a smile forming on her lips. "She was fucking Butch and called out James's name instead. _Priceless_!"

"So, then," he began, shifting against the sheets, his whole body suddenly tightening, "she's sleeping with James now."

Cassidy made a face and shook her head slightly. "No...no, I don't think so. I mean, they're touchy-feely and shit but she's still way too bitchy to be getting laid like...at all." She laughed to herself, finishing the rest of her cigarette and letting the smoke come out as she spoke, "Besides, I doubt _James_ could actually do anything to satisfy her. Not _this_ James, at any rate."

The rage that was on the verge of bubbling over in the dangerous way it had the tendency to do was quelled slightly, taking solace in the fact that his daughter likely wasn't hooking up with her idiot partner; hooking up with Cassidy's idiot partner was another story.

* * *

><p>It was bad enough that so far Johto had been a total bust, securing its place in line behind Kanto and the Orange Islands on the list of places failure had followed them; but now she had bad memories to deal with to boot.<p>

They weren't so much _bad_ memories as embarrassing, the thought never having occurred to her that Chansey had special powers that made human nurses all but obsolete. Everyone made such a fuss over Nurse Joy and how great she was at caring for their Pokemon when the fact of the matter was, she sat around and did jack-squat while Chansey and Blissey did all the _real_ work.

Maybe she could have asked Nurse Joy to help her learn how to be a human nurse - then again, maybe she could have done a lot of things differently than what she had. Would it really have made much of a difference? She failed at everything in life, it seemed, and it stood to reason that she would likely even blow it as a Pokemon nurse. She would have ended up in the same position but feeling even worse about herself, probably going and joining Team Rocket anyway.

No matter how many times she thought about things that had transpired in her life and what she could have done differently and how that may have changed things, it always ended up "and I would have joined Team Rocket anyway." All roads led back to Team Rocket. At least she could say she was consistent with _something_.

Truthfully, it wasn't even the memories that were making her shift uncomfortably against a fallen tree, her half of a golden pendant twirling around her fingers - it was James. He had to know that there were things about her that she didn't care to talk about for whatever reason or another. In fact, she recalled telling him that very thing almost word for word. Why was he so uppity about never hearing the grand story of her brief stint at nursing school? Nothing came of it so what did it matter whether she waxed poetic to him about her troubled past or not?

He was crouched in front of a bundle of sticks, helping Meowth to try to get a fire lit before night set in and they caught their death sitting around in wet clothes. She truly hated it when she knew he was sneaking glances at her - _especially_ when those glances weren't followed by blushes or shy smiles but scowling and furrowed brows. Surely he realized that not telling him about nursing school was small potatoes in comparison to having a damn _fiancée_. It wasn't like he told her everything, either.

Reaching down, she fiddled with the heel of her boot until a small compartment opened up, placing the pendant delicately inside and slamming it shut again. Butch had finagled the thing when they were together and mostly used it to leave her notes and odd little trinkets she was sure she still had somewhere. She remembered yelling at him that something like that was a brilliant hiding place for various illegal things and should be used as such - not like a mailbox. She seemed to recall him focusing more on her calling him "brilliant" than her actual point.

A shift in the weight on the log made her jump a little and look up to see James sitting next to her, head hanging, hair covering any features she could have made out. Saying nothing in acknowledgement, she sat up straight again and crossed her arms, watching as Meowth struggled with his sleeping bag for the billionth time. If he thought that she was going to be the one to say something first, he was sadly mistaken. She had nothing to feel bad about in regards to him and she would be damned if she let his stupid pouting change her mind.

"What else haven't you told me?" he asked, voice already quiet and muffled even more by his hair.

"I'm rich and have a fiancé," she retorted.

James sighed heavily and ran a hand back through his hair, keeping his gaze on the ground. "I just...I thought we knew everything about each other. Sometimes we even know the other better than they know themselves. And now..."

"Now nothing. We still know almost everything -"

"_Almost_." He swallowed hard and shifted against the tree himself. "I only kept Jessibelle a secret because I didn't want to drive -" Biting his lip, he stopped, turning his head away from her as he continued, "I thought that if you knew I had a fiancée - no matter how much I hated her - that you would never...maybe..." Sighing again, he shut his eyes and made a face at himself, horrified that he was telling her any of this. "I thought maybe we might fall in love one day and I didn't want this stupid marriage that I don't even _want_ getting in the way of it."

Slowly, she blinked at him, her mind taking each word and running it through her head in an attempt to understand what she'd just heard. The idea of falling in love with anyone ever again was one that made her laugh bitterly, "love" being something that companies made up to sell cards, candies, and flowers; the idea of falling in love with _James_ was...well, she wasn't sure how she felt about that one just yet.

She turned her head away now as well, sliding her hands underneath her thighs to try to warm them. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Why did you keep this from me?"

Shrugging, she looked down at the rotted out old tree trunk, moss spreading out over the bark, vines pulling it apart, nature itself taking back one of its own that had fallen. "Embarrassed, mostly."

He turned his head back to her, biting his lip again and scooting a little closer to her. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, though."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Oh, please. How many people can say that they've flunked out of _two_ schools in their lifetime?"

"Not many," he replied and smiled slightly, "but that makes you even more special."

"So special I should be wearing a helmet," she muttered, trying to scrape some of the moss off her makeshift seat.

"What else did you do while we were apart?"

"Nothing that matters."

"Everything you do matters," he said, watching as his own arm slid around her waist, his hand resting at her hip.

She felt her defenses start to crumble at his touch, wanting to lean back against him and let him hold her and tell her how amazing she was. She had shown more than enough weakness when it came to James; any more and he might start to think that his crazy notion about falling in love wasn't so crazy after all.

Quickly, she stood and brushed off the seat of her skirt, clearing her throat. "I should get my sleeping bag set up and ready for bed before it gets too dark. Besides, I'm freezing."

James looked at her, not bothering to try to hide the sadness in his eyes. "Me too."

She nodded and went to the tattered balloon in search of her belongings. Why did James have to make everything so difficult? Couldn't he just be mad at her and act like a child like any _normal_ person? Why did he have to..._care_?

She hated having him angry at her but she hated having him care even more. She could never match his feelings for her - and, though she would never admit it, she had tried. She was emotionally unavailable to anything but negativity and certainly to things like love. One day he would realize that and be able to move on with his life, get a girl who deserved him (whether such a creature existed, she wasn't sure) and feel and do all of those silly romantic things they acted out from time to time in their disguises. That was the closest she would ever let herself get to being in love, she resolved; though if the point was to spare her pain and heartache, it was another plan that was failing miserably.

* * *

><p>"Heya, dummies!"<p>

Blowing a strand of hair out of her face in annoyance, Jessie turned from bandaging James up (now that her nursing school secret was out, she had been dubbed official "mummy maker", as James had put it.) She sat back on her heels and watched as Meowth ran up with her new Wobbuffet - who didn't run so much as quickly waddle. Jessie crossed her arms and eyed them both while James tried not to laugh at the big X-shaped bandage across Wobbuffet's head.

"So listen up!" the Pokemon said, gesturing with his head to their new comrade. "I was just talkin' with Wobbs, here, and it turns out dat it's a big loser, too!"

Jessie stared at him blankly, eyes slightly narrowed. "Please explain to me why you would tell me this and think that I wouldn't bandage your stupid Meowth shut!"

He shook his head and waved his hands in front of himself, stepping back. "No, no! I'm tryin' to help!" Placing a paw on Wobbuffet's back, Meowth happily explained, "See, dis Wobbuffet's old trainer wanted to trade it real bad but dere wasn't any takers!"

"Can't imagine why," she said flatly.

"Will ya _listen_! See, when I heard dat...I realized sometin' real important."

"That James is almost as big an idiot as those twerps when it comes to recognizing people?" she offered, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye and getting a nervous laugh in return.

"I already knew James was stupid."

He frowned and crossed his legs and arms, slouching slightly. "_Hey_!"

Ignoring his friend, Meowth continued, "Dis Wobbuffet was fated to come to us! What's dat called...kismet!"

"And we have a new reigning idiot," Jessie said with a sigh, starting to pack up their first aid kit.

Hopping in front of her and putting his paw over the kit, he looked up at her and smiled sadly. "Nobody wants us, neither."

She blinked and did nothing for a moment before swatting his paw away and continuing to pack up. "Speak for yourself."

"You ain't got a family," he said, pointing to Jessie, "you got one but wish ya didn't," he pointed to James, "I've never had anybody care 'bout me 'til youse two came along." Letting out a heavy sigh, he slumped his shoulders. "And we all know how da boss and Team Rocket feel about us."

Letting his body slouch down more against the trunk of a tree, James stated, "Well, that certainly brought the room down."

Furrowing her brow, Jessie looked at her new Pokemon who saluted her and said its name in return. She bit her lip to keep from smiling at its stupid face and voice, quickly turning her nose up. "Hmph. At least Lickitung could actually _attack_."

"Hey, you saw Wobbs kickin' butt with dat Counter!"

"So what am I supposed to do, sit around and wait for a trainer to start pummeling us before retaliating? And, stupid as most of these trainers may be, they would catch on pretty quick how to make Counter fail and Wobbuffet completely useless."

"James is useless and we keep him around!"

Clenching his teeth, James sat up from his pity party against the tree. "I've had just about enough of you picking on me!"

Meowth pulled down his eye and stuck his tongue out at his aggravated partner. "Den start bein' good for sometin' other den sleepin' with Jessie!"

Jessie immediately hit him into a nearby tree with the first aid kit. "You're both equally useless. Better?"

"I do way more den dat...dat..._dandy_!"

James gasped, fists clenched now as well. "What did you just call me?!"

"Ya heard me, ya _dandy_!"

The thoroughly pointless argument continued as Jessie got up and put the first aid kit back in the balloon, turning around and getting startled by her Wobbuffet that stood right behind her. "It was only a few feet away, you didn't have to follow me, you know."

"Wooobbuffet," it replied, gesturing with its head back to the literal cat fight.

Jessie sighed and nodded slightly. "I understand."

Leaning back against the basket of the balloon, she kicked at the ground with her boot - something Wobbuffet tried to mimic but only ended up falling over. She rolled her eyes, letting herself smile at what seemed to be the Pokemon equivalent of James. Offering it a hand, it took it and popped back up like whack-a-Drilbur game.

Crossing her arms, she looked at the Pokemon that could easily be mistaken for dead or frozen, completely still and expressionless...yet somehow she knew that it was waiting for her to say something - _wanted_ her to say something.

"So, I suppose you could be considered an orphan, too then."

"Wooob."

"You know I caught that Lickitung all by myself and nearly won a very prestigious festival with it."

"Woooobbuffet."

Eying it with some trepidation, she reached forward and poked its belly, watching it jiggle for a moment before the movement spread to the rest of its body. She clasped a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter. Getting herself together and dropping her hand, she turned her head away from it. "Well, you'll be good for entertainment value, at least."

"_Wooob_!" the Pokemon cried happily and saluted before wrapping its arms around her waist, capturing her arms along with them, and hugging her tightly.

Jessie groaned, half-heartedly trying to escape the embrace. Resting her head on top of Wobbuffet's, she scowled to herself. "If this is the kind of shit that happens when you're nice, I'd rather be a bitch."

* * *

><p>Taking almost no time to relax and bask in the afterglow, Cassidy stood from the bed and began gathering her clothes. She glanced at Giovanni, who was still laying breathless, tangled up in the sheets. Looking away, she hopped into her panties. Why she even bothered with underwear at this point was beyond her.<p>

Knowing what she did, she made sure to give him the fuck of a lifetime before attempting to casually breach the subject. He was always much more receptive after sex - then again, who wasn't?

She walked back to the bed and put the rest of her clothes next to her before reaching down to grab her boots. The sooner after sex she spilled the beans, the better it would be for her health. Of course, Giovanni let his emotions get the best of him sometimes and it would be entirely possible that one minute he would be fine with the situation and the next have his Rhydon dig a hole for a body - or two or three.

Startled when two large hands slid their way to grab onto her hips, she mentally cursed herself for waiting too long. She bit her lip in uneasiness as he pulled her toward him, his mouth licking and sucking savagely at her neck. Tilting her head to the side to give him more skin to leave red and bruised, she took a deep breath and decided to go for it.

Just as she was about to open her mouth, he beat her to the punch, lips brushing against her ear as he growled, "And where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Trying her hardest to play off her response as nothing, she replied as she zipped up her boots, "Butch is coming back today. I guess it's more of a job for interior design-"

"Really," he said flatly, dropping his hands from her hips and pulling away.

She swallowed hard and nodded, standing up and running her fingers back through her hair, keeping her back to him. "Yeah, so, you know, I'd like to be there when he comes back." Pulling her bra back on, she added with a darting glance back at him, "That's the whole point why you broke us up, right? Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that sentimental garbage."

Cassidy could feel his eyes on her like a laser, peeling away her skin bit by bit until she couldn't take it anymore and was at his mercy. She hated him so much sometimes. When she turned to grab her uniform, she found that he was holding it tightly in a fisted hand, his eyes locking with hers, freezing her in place.

Giovanni stood, the darkness in his eyes only growing deeper as she took a step back from him. It was all well and good that she was afraid - she just wasn't afraid _enough_. "Don't you _dare_ give me that poor, stupid blonde bullshit. I know you far better than that now."

Shaking her head quickly, she looked down. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He took a step toward her and placed one hand back on her hip, the other grabbing her chin. "Maybe you _are_ nothing more than a useless ditz that has to fuck her way to the top. After all," he pulled her closer, leaning in so his lips barely brushed against hers, "only a dumb _slut_ would think that I didn't know _exactly_ what she was doing."

She shut her eyes and tried to jerk her head away only to have him tighten his grip. "Fine," she relented through clenched teeth, "Butch is back so this...whatever it was...it has to stop. I'm not - I _can't _do this when I have to face him every day."

He couldn't help but laugh slightly, hand sliding down from her hip to grab her ass, making her jump. "You really think that you're the one who decides when this ends?"

"Well, it would be rape otherwise, sir," she retorted, regret consuming her whole being the second the words left her lips. Maybe she _was_ just a stupid little whore; anyone with any bit of intelligence didn't antagonize people like Giovanni - they bit their tongues and took it. Then again, she had "taken it" more than enough times from him.

His hand moved from her chin to cup her face, an action that baffled her until his fingers reached out and grabbed a hold of her hair at the scalp, giving it a rough tug. "You can't tell me after these long weeks that you didn't want this." Tugging at her hair again and sneering through her grunt of pain, "I seem to recall you dropping your panties and bending over quite easily."

"I can't anymore," she said quickly, hands on his chest in a vain attempt to keep him away.

"Don't be foolish," he spat. "You still want this, you miserable little -"

"I want _Butch_!" she cried, surprised at herself for actually saying anything that admitted her feelings for him out loud - and to the boss, no less. "I want Butch..." she murmured, repeating herself if only to see if she was truly capable of saying such things.

In a flash, the back of his hand was slapping across her face, the sheer force of it actually knocking her to the ground with a scream. He clenched the guilty hand and glared down at her as she put her hand to her cheek, staring up at him in shock. A plethora of options ran through his head at that moment, almost all of them vile even by his standards; instead, he turned from her and hunched over, pressing his fists into the mattress to keep them from pressing into her face.

"Get out," he commanded, throwing her crumpled uniform at her. "Get out and leave for Johto the very _second_ your precious partner walks through that door." Giovanni turned his head slightly to send a truly frightening look over his shoulder. "I don't want you anywhere near me. It may, in fact, be a miracle if I contact you and can look at you through the video phone without smashing the screen to bits. It _is_ a miracle that you're leaving here unscathed," he paused, smirking a little to himself at the red mark that burned brightly against her pale cheek, continuing, "More or less, that is."

Cassidy didn't even bother zipping up her uniform all the way, heart pounding and face throbbing as she bolted for the door and ran down several halls, the heels of her boots clicking loudly against the floor. Finally she stopped to catch her breath. Tears were streaming down her face and she didn't know why. Fear? Gratitude that he let her leave there at all? ...Guilt? She frowned to herself at the last notion; though, it _was_ true that she never meant for any of this to hurt him - she didn't think that it would ever be a problem, the boss getting hurt.

There he was, reacting to their non-break-up like a complete psycho - way beyond anything she ever dreamed him to be capable of. She knew from personal experience that people usually only lashed out in such a way when they were in pain themselves; hell, that had been her entire M.O. with Butch. It wasn't like she didn't understand what that felt like.

Maybe that was the problem.

* * *

><p>Meowth nudged her in the ribs with his elbow, snickering. "Hey. Hey, Jess. I always knew James was...flaming!" He fell back in the seat of the construction crane, thoroughly pleased with himself as he laughed hysterically.<p>

Jessie rolled her eyes and sat back, crossing her arms and watching the display in front of her. "I can't decide whether I should be hopelessly turned on by his new, confident attitude or keel over from secondhand embarrassment."

"Anyting that don't result in you bein'..." he gestured with his paw and shuddered before continuing, "dat's da ting I'll always vote for!"

She smacked him upside the head, turning her attention back to the Rockets, twerps, and a "Moltres." Shifting against the seat, she winced a little at the growing bruise on her lower back. Her eyes traveled to Butch and she wondered what in the world had happened to him. He wouldn't hurt anyone - especially not her - and yet there he was knocking her around like she was some Hitmonlee's punching bag. It was Cassidy's influence, clearly; but that only made it worse, didn't it?

Realizing that she had been staring when his eyes met hers from across the warehouse, she quickly looked away and hoped that what she was thinking hadn't been written all over her face. The thought crossed her mind to keep eying him and wince dramatically when he looked her way again...

But then James fell back to Earth - literally.

* * *

><p>"I absolutely refuse to believe this!" he cried, walking with purpose to the nearest trash can and throwing the book inside. "A <em>Magikarp<em>. How could I go from a Moltres to a Magikarp?!"

"Well, dat book of Birch and Cassidy's was a fake, for one ting," Meowth replied.

James groaned, slumping down on a bench near the bin. "A _Magikarp_. Someone kill me and make a James sushi roll. At least then I would be doing something helpful."

Jessie scowled, arms crossed, standing in front of her partner. "You take everything so literally! And you're stupid about it to boot."

"Thanks, Jess," he grumbled.

She sighed and sat down next to him, tilting her head to see past his hair and look at his pouting face. "It obviously means that you have untapped potential and that everyone who tossed you around like you were worthless -"

"Or punted into da sea," Meowth interrupted, getting a fierce glare in return and ducking under another bench for safety.

"All of those people will see you as the strong, magnificent person you always knew you could be!"

Shifting against the bench, he turned his head away from her slightly. "I don't feel very strong. And definitely not magnificent."

"But you did as Moltres, right?"

He nodded a little before shaking his head to let more hair fall over his face, concealing his misery from his friends.

"But you aren't a Moltres."

"Thank you..._again_, Jess."

She huffed in exasperation, slinking her arm around his and taking his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "You thought you were a Moltres and it gave you a major confidence boost. You're still capable of being that way...just because you aren't a stupid Moltres doesn't mean you have to stop being confident and powerful and..." Glancing at Meowth, still hunkered underneath the bench, she leaned in a little and whispered, "_Sexy_."

Blinking, he turned to look at her, mouth hanging slightly open. "You...you thought I was...?"

Shrugging, she smiled at him. "Less in the Moltres get-up but yeah."

He ducked his head again, feeling his face flush with warmth. The sexiest girl on the planet actually thought _he_ was sexy, too. Had he accidentally been sent to a parallel universe?

Resting her head on his shoulder, she looked off into the center of town. "It reminded me of the way things were when we were first paired together and became agents."

James grinned a little and nodded. "We were badasses, weren't we?"

She nodded in agreement as well and let out a heavy sigh. "It's like we de-evolved from a Gyarados to a Magikarp."

"Well..." he began, biting his lip and glancing down at her quickly, "at least that would explain why I always get tricked by that Magikarp salesman."

Jessie laughed and shoved him in the side. "What? You felt a pull to your own kind?"

Grin growing, he shrugged, glancing now at their intertwined hands. "Maybe. Who knows?" He paused and squeezed her hand, brushing his thumb over the back of it. "You're no Magikarp, though."

Raising an eyebrow, she looked up at him. "I'm already a Gyarados, right? Always have been?"

"No!" he said, laughing a little. "You're more like...a Dragonite, I think."

Tilting her head up, she rested her chin against his shoulder, both eyebrows furrowed now. "So I'm still a big, scary dragon. Great."

Shaking his head quickly, he tried to explain, "I mean...yeah, it looks big and threatening and sometimes it is, because it's so powerful." Leaning down, he brushed his lips against her forehead, murmuring against her skin, "But when it isn't battling or being threatened...it's like it becomes a squishy toy and you see all the cute things about it." He swallowed hard, taking his free hand and gently lifting her chin, his heart suddenly pounding faster when their eyes met. "Things like...like when it crinkles up its nose and scowls when you burn dinner...or how it tries to pretend that it isn't ticklish but you know it _so_ is." Hand sliding up to cup the side of her face, emerald eyes staring into hers, he noted the utterly speechless look written all over her face. "How its braids always made you feel tingly inside...and how when it gets nervous or worried, it automatically fiddles around with the earrings you gave it when...when, um..." He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, finding himself unable to look at her, "when those braids were making it feel tingly inside...and most importantly, how the morning of that test -" he paused and opened one eye, quickly adding, "- an important Dragonite test, I mean," he closed his eye again and bit his lip, "how you just wanted to stay there forever and...and maybe be lucky enough to get a kiss." Quickly pulling his hand from her face and scooting away slightly, dropping her hand, he ran his own back through his hair awkwardly. "Y - You know. Cute Dragonite things like that."

Jessie still stared, eyes wide and mouth agape, frozen next to him like she was part of the bench itself. Her heart began to race as well, lips moving only slightly now to try to form words but only helpless little squeaks coming out instead.

Smiling sheepishly, he pointed to her. "That's cute, too."

She shook her head, barely enough to be noticeable, her lips still moving and finally managing to get out a soft whisper of, "James..."

"So, is he fixed yet?" Meowth asked, walking back over to them from his hiding place.

James looked at him and nodded a little, smiling more. "I'm feeling better, yes. Thanks to Jessie."

Shrugging his shoulders, he put his paws up and said through a sigh, "Leave it to a Gyarados to give a Magikarp a pep talk."

With barely enough time to move out of the way, James jumped back behind the bench as the Pokemon was grabbed by its scruff and unceremoniously slammed into the trash can.

A dazed echo came from inside, "Gyarados's...thrash attack..."

* * *

><p>In the time since Butch returned from Kanto, the partners had little to say to each other. They were never as close as Jessie and James but they were able to have a conversation, squeal over their brilliance, bitch about their defeats, and forget about everything by having sex. They weren't going to be exchanging friendship bracelets any time soon but it was much less awkward than sitting silently in a jail cell, praying to whatever would listen that the boss got them the hell out of there fast.<p>

Cassidy minded the tension between them a little but, at the moment, was grateful for it as the boss's menacing sneer kept rewinding over and over again in her head. The last time she saw him, he was smacking her and throwing around threats that she knew weren't idle; because of that fact, Butch had made all the arrangements until that point and it would've looked extremely suspicious if she didn't want to take the boss's call given how desperately she had always wanted to please him. She tried to pay attention but all she could think about was whether or not he would make a smart remark to Butch and break his video phone.

After, she was still shaken enough to actually _not_ enjoy torturing Jessie and James; of course, it also could've been that she didn't have anything to do since the fucking idiot was dressed as a Moltres. It amazed her that Jessie was going along with the whole thing, making her second-guess her assertion that they weren't screwing around.

She was unable _not_ to notice James's package in the outfit (while also being slightly annoyed that he likely looked better in head-to-toe Spandex than she ever would.) Feeling a bit more herself, she smirked at Jessie whose eyes were locked on Butch. What was wrong with that dumb bitch _now_? She third-guessed her assumption about their relationship, wondering if maybe they weren't sleeping together because James was...well, James was a Moltres. It would certainly explain why he shied away from _her_ advances.

They had been sitting in jail longer than ever before, Butch commenting that it was probably because of the different regions - not that you couldn't easily fly to Kanto from Johto in a day, let alone how quickly it would take to wire some money. She shifted uncomfortably on the worn wooded bench in the cell, keeping her mouth shut and simply nodding along. If only she had been able to do that with the boss.

"I think I fucked up."

Lifting her head to look at the turquoise-haired boy across from her, Cassidy was truly shocked that he was saying anything to her at all. She almost didn't know how to respond: "no shit you fucked up, we're in jail aren't we?" or the much less aggressive "what do you mean?" She opted for the latter - her mouth had gotten her in enough trouble for a lifetime.

He leaned forward, head down, resting his elbows on his thighs, his hands in fists on his chin, and tapping his foot incessantly against the floor. "Jessie."

Cassidy stared at him blankly, waiting for more of an explanation than _that_. Not receiving one, she stated, "We didn't do anything to those wastes of oxygen."

"Maybe you didn't." Taking a deep breath, he ran his hands back through his hair only to have gravity take its course and make it fall right back down again. "Why didn't I take James? I've _dreamed_ about that for so long and instead I just..." He shook his head at himself and leaned back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling. "I didn't mean to slam her that hard against the wall," he said softly after several minutes of silence.

Absentmindedly placing a hand on the cheek that Giovanni slapped, she looked away from him and out the tiny barred window. "Shit happens. She'll get over it."

Clenching his teeth, he crossed his arms, hands gripping at the sides of his uniform. "When we were tying them up, I..." Only his eyes moved to look over at her, lowering his voice, "This is fucked up, Cassidy. It's so fucked up."

Feeling his eyes on her, she shrugged a little and glanced briefly at him to acknowledge his gaze. "So you're kinky and got a little hard. It's not like -"

"She was glaring at me and struggling and pissing me off...and then she kicked me in the shin and I fucking lost it, Cass."

"I was right there. You didn't do anything wrong."

He shook his head and swallowed hard, his face suddenly showing the deep shame he felt inside. "I purposely made the rope tighter around her. And then when she winced and I saw that _I_ was the one making her feel pain -"

"Yeah, yeah," she interrupted, waving her hand in dismissal at him. "You felt so awful because poor Princess Jessie got rope burn."

Standing abruptly, he threw his hands up in the air. "_Fuck_, Cassidy! I _liked it_, okay?! It felt like _finally_ I had some fucking control and was making her feel as bad as she made me feel."

Cassidy stared up at him as he ran his hands through his hair again and began to pace. What was she supposed to say? It _was_ fucked up. Giovanni-esque, in a way. "I didn't know you still felt so...strongly about that."

He stopped pacing long enough to reply, "I _don't_. I don't think I do...I was mad and hurt for a while but...I ended up having more important and relevent things to worry about, you know?"

"Maybe you equate failure with her. I mean, hell, how many plans have we blown for the boss? And who was there at _every single one_? She even teamed up with those brats for that nightmare on Mandarin Island."

Butch sat down next to her, noticing how her body stiffened up at his presence and feeling worse about himself. "Still doesn't make sense. If I were pissed about the failure, why not go after the moron that I was chomping at the bit to knock around? Why...Jessie?"

Cassidy shook her head slightly, staring out the window again to avoid looking at him. "I have no idea."

Looking down at his lap, letting the tense silence envelop them for a while, Butch finally ended it by softly asking, "You know I'm not like that, right? That I wouldn't do that to anybody?"

"Well, since you _did_ do it..."

He shut his eyes tightly, hunching over once again. "I mean...I would never do that to you."

Cassidy couldn't help but snort in response, rude though it was; who was he kidding, here? "You're in love with her and you did it. You don't even _like_ me. So why would I ever think that we wouldn't get into another fight and instead of being a passive little shit, you give me a black eye?"

"Please tell me you don't really think that..."

She turned and looked at him, thankful that she couldn't see his eyes. "I don't care about smacking her into a wall. I don't even care about tying her up. It's _why_ you did it that's..." She looked down at her lap as well now, finishing quietly and hoping he wouldn't hear, "that's just like the boss."

He opened his eyes and turned his head, still lowered, body still hunched over in emotional and mental agony. "Isn't that a good thing?" he asked, copying her tone.

"_No_," she said sharply, rubbing her cheek again and letting her eyes bore a hole in the floor.

Butch watched her for a few moments, something nagging at him in the back of his head, making him ask, "What happened while I was gone?"

Cassidy shook her head quickly and made a face, trying to play her actions off. "The boss ran me ragged, that's all." It wasn't _really_ a lie. "He might be rich and powerful but he's...he's fucking nuts, really."

He couldn't help but smile a little and turn his head back to face the floor. "Never thought I'd see the day that you weren't on your knees, ready to blow him at any moment."

Just as Giovanni had done to her, she reached out and slapped him, immediately bringing her sore, trembling hand to her chest and standing up and away from him. She willed her voice to be strong and bitchy, spitting at him from over her shoulder, "Fuck off, _Batch_."

Only slightly shocked that she'd hit him - it _was_ Cassidy, after all - Butch stood as well, ready to give her hell until he saw her body shaking with something he was almost positive wasn't anger. "Cass," he began, voice full of worry and fear, "what _did_ happen?"

The sound of heels clicking against the floor outside made them both turn to see Officer Jenny unlocking the cell. "You've been bailed out." She watched as the two Rockets stepped out and slammed the cell door shut behind them. Giving them a cold glare, she put her hands on her hips. "I had hoped that here in Johto, you two wouldn't be able to get out so quickly." Guiding them down the hall to the front of the police station, she gestured to the sliding glass front doors that led back out into the world. "Apparently your boss is very persuasive."

Together they replied, "You have no idea."


	24. Whirlpool

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>"If this isn't a sign that any plan involving <em>marrying me off<em> is a terrible one, then I don't know what is," James said grumpily as he made repairs to their poor balloon.

"Don't be so fucking dramatic," Jessie replied, sitting on a rock next to him and watching as he worked, patching up places here and there that Meowth deemed unsafe. Why they were listening to him likely had more to do with the balloon mirroring his own big, inflated head and less to do with any actual expertise he had on the subject.

James clenched his teeth, glaring at her out of the corner of his eye. "Don't you care even a _little bit_ about my feelings?"

She rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to point out that playing the victim only made him seem more dramatic. "Of course I do. You seem to forget that you thought the plan was a great idea, too. Besides," she yawned, placing her hands on the small of her back and cracking it, making a face at the noise, "that girl may have been off her rocker but at least she wasn't Jessibelle."

"So you were willing to let me get married to a crazy person with no brain as opposed to a crazy person with a whip." He scoffed a little, focusing his attention back on sewing small, miscellaneous pieces of fabric to the tears in the balloon. "Excuse me if that doesn't make me feel much better."

"_Fine_," she said, standing from the rock and turning away from him, crossing her arms. "Nevermind that _she_ was the one that was on you like an Arbok on a Ratatta and declared you her fiancé before Meowth and I even knew what was happening."

"That doesn't mean you had to encourage her!" he retorted, pricking himself with the needle in his frustration, bringing his finger to his lips and saying, "_Fuck_."

Jessie glanced back over her shoulder at him, the unwelcome feeling of guilt starting to creep into her head. Sure, James had sworn before but usually in fear or to try to sound tougher than he actually was. It was possible that he'd cursed before in anger but for the life of her she couldn't remember. Well, he probably called her all kinds of nasty things in his head, anyway - that should still count for something.

"You know, in these plans to make you an honest man, the ultimate goal is _always_ to grab the loot and get the hell out - with you in tow." Tossing her hair back, she finished in a huff, "We would never leave you behind. Especially given the kind of women that seem to flock to you."

"_You_ flocked to me," he mumbled against his bleeding finger.

"It's not _flocking_ when it's mutual, you ignoramus!" she growled, spinning back around to face him, fists clenched. "You're an even bigger fucking moron than I ever thought if you just assumed that I would leave you behind like that!"

Turning his head to the side slightly, Jessie could barely see his eyes through the veil of hair, their usual bright sparkle dulled to a murky darkness. "You have a history of it," he said coldly, sucking at his finger one more time before returning to his work.

Jessie clenched her teeth now, both in anger and hurt. How could he possibly throw that back in her face? And over something so trivial! It wasn't like he _valued_ marriage to the point where he refused to marry anyone he didn't love. He was raised in a world where couplings were treated as business transactions and if it weren't for the fact that Jessibelle was an utter lunatic, Jessie had no doubt that James would likely be married to her by now, living it up in one of their disgustingly huge mansions. Anyone that needed that many rooms in a house was surely hiding something disturbing - like a torture chamber, for instance.

"You know things are different now," she said quietly but sternly. "We're a _team_."

James shook his head a little, struggling to rethread the needle with his shaky hands. "Why don't you care?" he asked, matching the softness of her voice.

Taking a sharp, deep breath, she tilted her head back toward the sky and shut her eyes; she was going to jam that whole damn balloon down his throat in a second. "If I didn't care, why am I standing here arguing with you about it?"

He dropped the needle and thread and stood up, pointing at her accusingly. "_You're_ the ignoramoose!"

"Ignora_mus_."

"Who cares?!" he cried, taking the few steps to stand in front of her. "Do you really not give a damn who I end up with?"

Opening one eye and darting a glance at him, she turned her head away from him and closed it again. "It's not something I lose sleep over."

"Well...well you should!"

She couldn't help but groan, dropping her arms to her sides and looking at him, shoulders slumped slightly, more than ready to give in and wave the white flag already and put the whole thing - and herself - to bed. "And why would that be, James?"

"Because _this_, that's why!" he replied, taking another step toward her and putting his hands on her cheeks, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. He let his fingers run back through her hair, daring to deepen the kiss when he wasn't immediately pummeled.

Her eyes widened, every part of her freezing up; her heart stopped, her body didn't twitch, her breathing ceased as he parted her lips with his tongue, taking away every bit of air she had in her body. This wasn't how their fights worked. James wasn't dominant and she was anything but submissive. Even if she was in the wrong, she would somehow manage to spin it where he ended up apologizing to _her_ or giving in, the whole thing forgotten by the next day. They didn't do..._this_.

Forcing her arms to move, she put her hands on his chest and shoved at him lightly once and then harder the next time to make her wishes clear.

When he pulled away from her, his anger had seemed to transform into confusion and embarrassment. His eyes were still dark but more with disappointment than anything else. Taking a step back from her, he lowered his head, closing his eyes. "I - I'm sorry. I don't know...I mean we -" He swallowed hard and bit the inside of his lip, the taste of her still on his tongue. "I don't understand."

"That makes two of us," she said, putting her hand to her chest and catching her breath. She looked at him with her own confusion in her eyes. "What did you do that for?"

"I - I thought...I thought that it would be easier than trying to tell you..." He paused, turning back around to face the balloon, rubbing his face with his hands miserably. "You're supposed to be jealous. You - you're not supposed to want anyone else to let me kiss them like that."

Jessie blinked at him once and then tilted her head, asking softly, "Who says I do?"

"You wanted me to get _married_, Jessie..." he replied, hands still covering his face and muffling his words.

"Yeah," she said, a straightforward tone in her voice, "to get money and Pokemon and then we get you out and run off. What is so hard to understand about that?"

James opened his eyes and turned to face her again, hands still covering his face. "You mean...you really wouldn't leave me behind so you could take all the money and glory for yourself?"

She scowled and crossed her arms. "How many times do I have to fucking say it? We're a _team_. And you and me, we're more than a team." Her face softened despite still being contorted in confusion. "You're my best friend. What fun would it be having a ton of cash if I didn't have you to blow it all with?"

He stared at her through his fingers, his brain wandering back to their final days at Pokemon Tech and how she had to convince him then, too that she wasn't going to leave him behind. Then she did, of course, but he knew why she did it and that she regretted it every day after - and he was the stupid jerk that brought it up again out of his own insecurities. It was a small miracle that he didn't throw being wrong about her attraction to his money in her face, as well. "Why _do_ you stay with me?" he asked.

Her confusion gave way to a small smile. "Because you're James, dummy." She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close and resting her chin on his shoulder. "You're my compass, after all."

Sliding his arms around her waist, he let his face brush up against her hair, eyes falling shut; she smelled like roses and burning rubber - probably from the daily explosions they had to endure and fight their way through. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged a little, the smile still on her face as she shut her eyes as well. "You said you'd always find me when I got lost. So, I'm holding you to that."

James held her tighter, smiling against her hair and nuzzling her head, murmuring against it, "You can hold me to anything, Jess."

Jessie couldn't help but laugh, burying her face into his shoulder to try to stifle it - unsuccessfully. She pulled back slightly and looked up at him, her fingers playing with the hair that barely brushed against the back of his neck. "You know...thinking about it...I'd probably punch a girl's lights out before she even walked down the aisle."

He grinned at her, hands moving to her hips. "_Jealous_."

She shook her head. "Selfish. I've told you before - I don't like sharing."

Resting his forehead against hers, his grin faded into a slight frown. "Wait...why can't you just knock a girl out before we get married, take all the loot, then run away without the whole..." He made a face and shuddered, "_marriage_ thing."

Blinking at him, her eyes slowly widened and she pulled back, moving her hands to his shoulders and shaking him gently. "There is absolutely no reason why I can't knock your bride unconscious!" She shrieked happily, kissing him quickly on the lips. "You're a genius!"

James stood up a little straighter, clearing his throat and stating, "Well, I suppose we ignoramuses can be brilliant, too!"

Smiling at him, she tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "You have no idea what that word means, do you?"

He shook his head, still standing tall, replying with confidence, "Not a clue!"

* * *

><p>Meowth sat on the edge of a nearby cliff, his short legs barely dangling over the edge. Resting back on his paws, he let out a heavy sigh, eyes locked on the bright moon in the sky above. It had a yellow glow around it, part of what prompted him to ask his new Pidgey friend if the rock that seemed to hang precariously in the air was actually made of cheese.<p>

He couldn't help but feel a bit like a phony after the fact; learning to walk and talk was nothing compared to what Orville had just done. The tiny Pidgey even inspired its fellow Pokemon to get off their pudgy Pidgey behinds and try to fly. Most Pokemon weren't inspired by his ability to walk and talk, instead finding him to be a bit a freak - maybe even a traitor.

Despite having said goodbye to Orville days ago, Meowth still found himself unable to forget the feat he witnessed and helped make happen in some insignificant way. He didn't think about what it took to learn to walk and talk very often and certainly didn't like to think about the repercussions his decision had. Meowzy wanted nothing to do with him. His fellow Pokemon were put off by him. Humans didn't know whether to treat him as a Pokemon or as one of their own. He didn't seem to fit in anywhere.

He turned, taking a look over his shoulder at his partners that were sound asleep in their sleeping bags a few feet away. Jessie was snoring obnoxiously (not that she ever believed she did such a thing) while James's pillow was becoming soaked with drool. Meowth couldn't help but smile a little; even though they had been pretty awful to him lately, letting that Snubbull use his tail for a chew toy and screwing up the balloon race, he still felt that the only place he didn't feel like a freak of nature was with them.

They had barely batted an eye when they were assigned him as a Pokemon and treated him no differently than they did each other - well, except for _some _things, of course, and he was more than grateful for that fact. Jessie and James argued with each other the same way they would argue with him. Jessie would smack him the same way she would smack James and throw a fit at them in the same way, too. They listened to him and cared about him and not only made him feel like part of the team but like an equal part of it. Sure, they were idiots that usually messed up his perfect plans - but they were _his_ idiots.

Standing up, he made his way back to camp and stood next to James's head, unable to keep from making a face at the dribble of drool coming from the corner of his mouth. He reached out and poked him in the cheek, scowling when the only response he got was a sleepy, half-hearted swat. Turning around, he used his tail to tickle under James's nose, facing him again at the sound of a loud, violent sneeze.

James sat up, rubbing his nose and then wiping the drool from his mouth. Jessie had shot up like a Diglett at the noise, quickly looking at her surroundings and trying to get her bearings. She looked over at James and narrowed her eyes, reaching over and smacking him in the back of the head with her pillow.

Whining and sniffling, he protested groggily, "Meowth made me!"

Suddenly realizing that his plan had worked and he now had his two friends awake, their undivided attention on him, Meowth had the unfamiliar feeling of shyness take over. He put his hands behind his back, clasping them together and looked down, poking his foot at the ground. "I was just...I was tinkin' 'bout some stuff...ya know, ever since we helped dat Pidgey."

Jessie and James exchanged glances and looked at him, the same eyebrow raising on both of them at the same time.

"I just...I wanted to tell yas dat I really appreciate da way ya don't treat me like a human or a Pokemon or a freak. Ya treat me like...ya treat me like Meowth!" Shifting his weight from one leg to the other and back again, he rubbed the back of his neck and turned his head away from them, saying quickly, "I love youse guys is all."

The human duo blinked, staying perfectly still in their sleeping bags for a minute before Jessie got out of hers and sat on James's, sliding her legs underneath herself. James grinned at her, gesturing in Meowth's direction with his head. She returned the grin and nodded. Jessie took his left cheek while James took his right, lightly pinching it affectionately.

"You big softie!" James said with a laugh.

"And for once we don't just mean your stomach," Jessie said, laughing as well as Meowth swatted at their hands and tried to shake his head away from their grip.

He rubbed his cheeks once they let go, shouting at them, "Dis is why I don't say stuff like dis! I get assaulted!"

Jessie and James continued to laugh, each one grabbing one of his arms and pulling him between them on the sleeping bag. Still rubbing his cheeks, he looked between them and pouted, crossing his arms. Exchanging another glance, his friends abruptly wrapped their arms around him, squishing him in the middle of an impromptu group hug. Meowth made a point of displaying his supposed annoyance with it before giving in and wrapping his arms around their waists the best his small limbs could.

The sound of a Pokeball popping open made the trio loosen up their hug just before a loud "_Woooob_buffet!" came from behind them, making all three jump.

Sighing, Jessie shook her head, reassuring the cat-like Pokemon, "Why would we ever think _you_ were the freak with _this_ thing around?"

* * *

><p>Butch warily eyed his surroundings, certain that he heard the sounds of creaking, the water pressure slowly but surely taking its toll on the underwater laboratory. He hated water - so fucking much; but how could he pass up the opportunity to help one of Team Rocket's leading scientists, getting the chance to test his new invention before anyone else? Cassidy would never have let him wuss out, anyway.<p>

They both sat in the modest commissary, Cassidy poking at her salad with a fork while Butch sat across the table from her, body tense and ears perked up to any sounds he thought might be threatening. Why they had to sit around in what would likely be their watery grave, waiting for one of the grunts to actually come through and find what Dr. Namba was looking for was beyond his comprehension. They had never left Johto and it was really only a stone's throw away from the Whirl Islands - they could've been there in a couple of hours once everything was set into motion.

Not only was the waiting agonizing but doing it in dead silence with his partner most of the time was only adding fuel to the fire. As was the case before, once they were released from jail they barely looked at each other, let alone spoke. He didn't know what to say and she seemed unwilling to talk even if he did. They spent most of their time lounging around a cheap hotel room before being sent their new Pokemon a few weeks ago. After that, they were focused on getting to know their new partners and establishing themselves as the bad-ass trainers they knew themselves to be.

"You must be in pure hell," Cassidy commented, her salad still untouched.

He looked over at her, trying to appear less frightened than he actually was. "What are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes, jamming her fork into a slice of tomato. "Your fear of water, dipshit."

Unable to keep from letting out a small laugh, he shook his head and rested back in his chair, crossing his arms. "I can't believe you actually remembered that."

"Why wouldn't I? It's a good idea to know your partner's fears and weaknesses so that you can make up for them appropriately."

He watched her continue to play with her food, noticing how dull and sad her lavender eyes were. After some silence between them, he asked, "What are your fears?"

Gaze flickering up at him, she quickly looked back at her increasingly unappetizing food. "Nothing as stupid as water, I can tell you that much."

His eyes stayed locked on her for a few minutes before he leaned forward, placing his arms on the table. "I think you're afraid of being weak."

"I'm _not_ weak so try again."

He continued on, ignoring her, "I think you're afraid that if you act like anything but a raging bitch all the time, people will walk all over you. Who cares if you're pushing away people that may actually give a damn and _not_ make you feel like shit? It's all or nothing, right?"

She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth, gripping her fork tightly and fighting the powerful urge to stab him in the eye with it. "You have some fucking nerve -"

"Sirs!" came the excited and breathless call from across the cafeteria, a grunt running over to their table. "The Pokemon has been located. Dr. Namba wants you to capture it at once."

Putting their argument aside for the moment, both Rockets stood and nodded, saluting the grunt back when he showed his respect. They made their way out of the commissary wordlessly, only stopping briefly to answer a question the grunt had posed to them on behalf of Dr. Namba: no, they weren't serving fish sticks that day.


	25. Irreplaceable

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>The two rival Rockets stopped walking, both looking between two paths that only seemed to lead them even further into the forest. They were already exhausted and had no clue where they were, no clue where their partners were. Perhaps worst of all, they were stuck with each other - something that neither would be overly thrilled about on a good day, let alone after getting shot into the stratosphere by an angry Lugia.<p>

Clothes torn, hair a mess, scratches in some of the most unsavory of places, the two had done little more than shoot catty one-liners at each other every now and then; it was probably the only thing keeping either of them from stabbing the other in the neck with a branch. The fork in the road gave them an opportunity to put themselves out of the misery of the other's company and look for their respective missing partners on their own. It wasn't until Butch started down one path that James stopped him, adding to the gravelly voiced man's annoyance.

"What is it?" he spat, spinning around and glaring at him. "Are you too scared to be by yourself, you fucking baby?"

James returned his cold glare, clenching his fists in an effort to keep them at his side and not smack into Butch's face. "As a matter of fact, unlike you, I was actually thinking about our partners."

Butch snorted and crossed his arms, blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes. "What? You think about Jessie? _Shocker_."

"Not like that!" he growled, pain shooting through his fists from holding them so tightly. "Jessie and Cassidy would never agree to split up. They would only argue that the other was right about everything they were saying and that they couldn't take the heat, meaning that neither would go off on their own purely out of their own stubbornness and they would just keep yelling at each other until they went hoarse."

Shaking his head, Butch replied, "Wouldn't matter with Cassidy. She knows sign language."

"I didn't realize that giving people the finger was now considered 'sign language'," James retorted.

"Hey," he started, taking a step toward the other Rocket and pointing at him, "Cassidy's smarter than a lot of people give her credit for. Including me."

James raised an eyebrow, a small smirk forming on his lips. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were falling for her, _Botch_."

He narrowed his eyes at him again. "And if _I_ didn't know any better, I'd say that you were itching for a good ass-kicking."

"I'd like to see you -" He stopped himself, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists. "My whole point was that we should stay together because they'll stay together. I don't particularly _care_ if you wander off into the woods and are never heard from again but I would rather not be alone with Jessie and Cassidy." Raising both of his eyebrows now, he looked to Butch. "No man deserves that fate."

Thinking about the possible outcome of any length of time spent with both girls, he couldn't help but shudder a little. "I can't believe I'm saying this...you make a good point, _John_."

He rolled his eyes and started with Butch once again down the same path. "At least I've never bothered to get your name right. You've called me 'James' plenty of times before."

"That was before you started saying mine wrong on purpose, just to be a little dick."

"In all fairness..." James began, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, trying not to laugh, "Jessie forgot your name at a very crucial point once, too."

Butch stopped and clenched his teeth, grabbing the other man by the collar of his grunt disguise and slamming him back against the hard trunk of a nearby tree. "Say her name to me again. I fucking _dare you_."

Trying to hide the fear he felt snaking its way from his stomach up to his chest, James sneered at him, "_Jessie_."

Yelling out, he pulled a fist back and let it go, connecting with James's cheek and causing both agents to cry out in their own pain. Butch clutched his hand, muttering swear words left and right while James slumped down against the tree trunk, the force of the blow knocking his head back against it and doubling his pain.

"I _told you_!" Butch scolded, pumping his fingers to make sure they were still in working order. "Fucking hell, you moron!"

James looked up at him, a purple and blue bruise already starting to form on his cheek. "Just wait until she sees _this_. Like she isn't scared of you enough already."

Opening his mouth to snap back at him, he stopped and closed it, lowering his head. Turquoise hair fell into chocolate-brown eyes, the white-hot rage in them giving way to shame. Quietly, he asked, "She's afraid of me?"

"What did you expect?" James frowned, confused by his rival's reaction. "You threw her into a _wall_."

"I didn't mean to," he said quickly.

"Well, we don't mean to stink at our jobs but look how well that turned out!"

Butch slowly dropped to his knees on the dirt pathway, eyes locked on the ground. "Even Cassidy's been weird with me since then."

Rubbing his cheek and frowning more, James retorted, "I can't imagine why."

Lips moving with his head in the clouds, he continued to muse out loud to himself without filtering his thoughts for his present company, "I love her and I hate that I do because she hurt me in the most humiliating way imaginable. So when I hurt her, it was..." he trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut.

James swallowed hard, the similarities between what Butch was describing and what he had experienced himself with Jessibelle making him feel sick to his stomach. "She won't ever love you if you keep doing those things." He lowered his head as well and let out a long sigh. "Believe me."

A small, sad smile appeared on his face, almost blacked out by the shadow of his dangling hair against his skin. "She won't ever love me _period_."

He nodded slightly, wincing as he touched the back of his head. "It certainly seems that way." Pausing, realizing how cruel what he just said had come off, he added softly, "I mean...I understand. That's all."

Butch laughed to himself and shook his head, looking up at him. "How? How could you possibly understand?"

James met his gaze, sad eyes meeting sadder ones. "Sometimes it's like there's no one else in the world but the two of us...and then some other times..." He sighed again, resting his head back against the tree with a wince. "Other times she talks about how I'm her best friend."

"How fucking stupid _are_ you?"

Blinking a couple of times, he furrowed his brow. "What?"

Butch shook his head, running his good hand back through his hair. "Have you forgotten what a mess she was the second you showed up at headquarters? Or maybe how it wasn't very long after that she called out your name when _I _got her off? If you had a fucking camera follow the two of you around for just a single day, your tiny little mind would be blown by the amount of times you two find an excuse to touch each other. Fuck, you don't even need an excuse half the time! It's Tuesday, better cling to each other!"

James felt his face become hot, the heat amplifying the pain he felt in his cheek. "I - I don't know -"

He waved his hand at him in dismissal and shook his head again. "Don't give me that shit. You know as well as I do that if Jessie didn't want you just as much as you want her, you wouldn't have functioning fingers right now because she'd break one every time you tried to grab her."

"I - I don't...I don't _grab_ her..."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Butch stood and begrudgingly offered his good hand to his fellow Rocket to help him up. "If you doubt for a single second that she cares about you beyond just being 'best friends'...you don't fucking deserve her."

Standing with Butch's help, James desperately willed his cheeks to stop burning and his voice to work, unable to think of anything to say.

He started walking off without him, saying back over his shoulder, "Will you listen to me this time when I tell you to shut the fuck up?"

All James could manage was a nod, stumbling after him like a Stantler just learning to walk.

* * *

><p>"I cannot <em>wait<em> to tell the boss how magnificently you screwed this mission up," Cassidy growled, stomping along behind her own rival.

Keeping a few steps ahead on a dirt path similar to the one their male counterparts were navigating, Jessie shot back, "It was _your_ Pokemon that broke the thing and let the Lugia escape."

"We never would've had to use them if you two weren't there stealing from your own organization!"

"Correction, _Cassie_: we were stealing from you and Butch to give to the boss ourselves. Huge difference."

"You are such a fucking _bitch_," Cassidy continued on. "Do you have any idea how much shit we'll be in over this?" Suddenly she let out a sarcastic laugh, tossing her hands up in the air. "Oh, I forgot! You three imbeciles _never_ have to answer for your actions! Everyone else has to walk on eggshells so they don't piss off the boss but you and your precious little James only get a scolding and sent off on Team Rocket's dime to keep trying to grab that fucking Pikachu that the boss probably doesn't even _give a shit_ about anymore!"

"Then why does he let us keep going after it?" Jessie retorted, ignoring the other girl as she caught up with her and kept up her pace at her side.

"To get you the hell away from this kind of shit! He knows you're total fuck-ups but for _some_ reason, he doesn't fire you and instead chooses to try to keep you as far away from all of his plans as possible; and even when you _still_ manage to muck things up, you get to go off and try to get that rodent again without any repercussions!"

"You think we haven't had any repercussions?" she asked, trotting ahead of Cassidy and then standing in front of her, arms crossed. "We barely eat. We get electrocuted daily. We're involved in explosions almost daily. What just happened with that Lugia? That's just another _awesome_ day being Team Rocket for us!" Swallowing hard, she dropped her arms to her side, making her hands into fists. "Do you have any _idea_ how losing to a _child_ every day for years feels when you were once the most respected and feared members Team Rocket had?"

"I'm starting to, thanks to you," she said coldly, her own hands balling up into fists as well. "You have no idea what the boss is capable of. Not one fucking clue." Turning her head away, she shut her eyes. "I hope you never find out."

Jessie stared at her, slightly shocked at how quickly her demeanor had gone from her usual bitchy self to something that felt much, much darker. "How did you find out?" she asked quietly.

Laughing bitterly, she shook her head and began to walk again, hitting her in the shoulder as she passed. "You're the last person on the face of the Earth that I would _ever_ talk to about that."

* * *

><p>Giovanni emerged from the door leading to the rooftop of Team Rocket's new Viridian City headquarters, his Persian following and making low hissing sounds as a Rocket helicopter made its descent from the air. He always enjoyed having the upper hand - even when the entire thing enraged him beyond all belief; but playing mind games with his employees often soothed the savage beast, making whatever had angered him in the first place not a complete and total loss.<p>

He smirked as Dr. Namba and several grunts hopped out of the copter once it landed safely. Merely nodding slightly to the grunts as they ran past through the door and down the stairwell, Giovanni was vaguely amused by their soggy appearance, even going so far as to remove a piece of kelp from one of the grunt's heads and toss it aside. Again: not a total loss.

Dr. Namba ambled toward him warily, already wincing in preparation for getting his ass handed to him on a platter. "Giovanni, sir! It wasn't necessary for you to come and greet us..."

"Oh, I disagree," he said as Persian kept guard in front of the door - the only means of escape other than jumping off the building. "I couldn't wait to hear about the progress you made with your invention -"

"Namba's Nasty Pokemon Provoker," he interrupted, cowering immediately after.

Giovanni narrowed his eyes, wondering to himself how he ever let this imbecile talk him into funding all of his work. "Yes - _that_. I'm waiting with bated breath for your report, _Professor_."

Taking a deep breath and then laughing nervously, he glanced away from his boss as he spoke, "Well, I managed to save almost all of my data regarding the Pokemon Power Magnifyer -"

"What, exactly, did you have to save it _from_?"

His mind wandering briefly, he mumbled in response, "Your bratty children, for one thing."

His smirk returned as he fiddled with the rings on his left hand, enjoying the horror wash over the scientist's face upon realizing what he'd just said. "Why _Professor_...are you saying that someone of your genius couldn't defeat a _boy_ and one of our worst agents?"

Nodding emphatically, Dr. Namba said quickly, "That is exactly what I'm saying, sir! Your children are marvelous - simply marvelous! Strong and tough as nails -"

Giovanni put his hand up to signal him to stop talking. Once he did, the boss of Team Rocket met his scientist's gaze. "So then I take it that this mission -"

"Operation Great Big Lugia," he added quickly, cowering once again right after.

"...Brilliant name. Truly worthy of a scientist of your caliber."

"Th - Thank you! Thank you, Giovanni, sir!"

"That wasn't a compliment," he glowered, taking a step toward him. "I want you to get your _bumbling ass_ down to that lab and get me something I can use out of your 'research'," he said, air quotes and all. "This is the very first building block of what will end up being one of Team Rocket's greatest achievements! Maybe even the greatest, if all goes as planned from here on out. If it doesn't," Giovanni leaned in, lowering his voice to a tone that made even his Persian hunch over in fear, "you'll go from lead scientist to test subject. Given how angry your invention makes Pokemon, I don't think you want that kind of demotion, do you?"

Dr. Namba shook his head and swallowed hard, scrambling for the door once Giovanni nodded to his Persian to move away. "I won't let you down, sir! This research is far too important!"

"Good," he said with a wicked smile. "Because if you thought enraged Pokemon could be dangerous..." He grabbed Namba by the back of the neck, making him yelp out in shock and pain. "You clearly haven't seen me on a bad day." Letting go of him and spinning him around to look him in the eye, the fear in the significantly smaller man's eyes bringing more amusement to Giovanni, he concluded, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

* * *

><p>They hadn't even had a chance to explore their new apartment yet - let alone actually look around the headquarters. From what they could gather, it was pretty much the same; though Butch claimed that the "vibes" were much less oppressive than in the old building. It was shortly after that bullshit remark that they collapsed on their respective beds and zonked out.<p>

Wandering into the bathroom, she couldn't help but scowl at the toothbrush sitting in the holder. Butch had run out to get himself a new one, claiming he must have lost his somewhere along the way; Cassidy was pretty positive that what she was looking at was said lost toothbrush. What a fuckwit. Then again, maybe he'd done something unspeakable with it like clean a toilet - in which case, why the _hell_ did he put it back?!

Dumping out her toiletry bag with the vain hope that she wouldn't have to pack the thing again for a long time, Cassidy proceeded to put her things away: toothbrush as far away from the offending one as possible; hair products set out on the sink in a very precise order; birth control pills and more aspirin than any human being should ever have in the medicine cabinet...

She was putting her various shower gels, shampoos, and conditioners away when there was a knock at the door. Immediately she rolled her eyes, making her way to the door and complaining, "How could you possibly lose your keys _already_?" She opened it, ready to mock him mercilessly but found that it wasn't Butch at the door.

Cassidy stepped back, her stomach dropping to her feet. The visitor stayed in the doorway, visibly amused by her reaction. Finally managing to speak, she stumbled through her question, "S - Sir...Sir! What um...what are you doing here?"

He made his way into the apartment, closing the door and locking it behind him. A familiar sense of dread overwhelmed her; this was it - she was a dead woman. A smirk slowly came across his face before he shortened the gap between them, his larger body tall and menacing over her small frame. She truly thought she was going to be sick all over him.

"I know that we just spoke last night in regards to your failure," he began in a cool tone, resting his hand against the back of the couch, "but I felt that you and I had some unfinished business to tend to."

She shook her head and forced a small smile. "I - I don't think so, sir. We're just fine -"

He grabbed her by the elbow, fingers digging into her skin. "We are _not_ fine." Walking around to the front of the couch, he dragged her along and threw her down on it. He stood above her to keep her from going anywhere, his voice eerily calm, "Seeing you again...well, it made me recall one or two things." Raising an eyebrow, the smirk never leaving his lips, he reached both hands forward and grabbed her breasts through her uniform, deciding, "Yes, I think it was more along the lines of _two_ things."

Squirming, she swatted at his hands - something that made him laugh and stand back up straight, letting her go. She kicked her feet, hitting him several times in the shins and thigh, trying to push him back so she could escape.

Giovanni sighed - almost wistfully - and grabbed an ankle as her foot connected with his knee. He winced, teeth clenching in pain, the smirk and uncharacteristic attitude now gone. He grabbed her other ankle and roughly yanked her off the couch and onto the floor before dragging her to a less cramped area of the living room.

She growled, still kicking her legs against his grasp. Her skirt was tugged up as she was pulled across the floor and she noticed that the smirk had returned at the sight of her panties. There wasn't enough dread in the world that could have prepared her for the realization; she would've been happier if he just killed her.

Eyes darting around frantically, she found nothing in close range that could be used as a weapon. She glanced down at her hands and quickly removed her gloves as he got to his knees and straddled her.

"That's very considerate of you to start stripping, but unfortunately I don't have the time for that." Running his hands up her thighs, pulling up the rest of her uniform as he did, his breathing became more ragged when he reached her panties, hooking his thumbs in the elastic.

His growing arousal was all but dashed quickly enough when several places on his face began burning with pain. Glaring down at her, he pressed himself down against her even harder, using one hand to easily grab both of hers by the wrist and hold them up over her head. "Try using your nails now, you little _bitch_."

Cassidy growled at him, struggling against his superior strength. Panic, anger, and horror rushed to her brain all at once, making her briefly dizzy and have to shut her eyes. She heard the sound of his belt coming undone and soon after, his zipper. She could feel him against her and it made her shudder in disgust. How could she ever have, at one time, _wanted_ him?

Using his free hand, he tugged her panties down to her knees, then reached up and gripped her face, making her gasp out in pain and open her eyes. "There. Wouldn't want you to miss it, after all."

The amusement returned to his face as he simply sat there for a moment and took in the situation he found himself in. She was snarling at him, still struggling beneath him. She knew better than most anyone what happened to people who didn't keep their word; lucky for her, the thought of killing such an impressive lover seemed like such a waste.

Leaning in, he captured her mouth with his, wasting no time in tasting her as his tongue explored the mouth it had once been so acquainted with.

Rage overtook the other things she was feeling; she wasn't a fucking _victim_. Inwardly she smirked herself as she gently bit on his tongue, getting a moan in response. The smirk moved outward when she suddenly bit down _hard_, this time getting a yell of pain instead of a moan.

He let go of her wrists and sat back, holding his hands to his mouth. Pulling them away, he spit into his palms and saw traces of blood. "You fucking _whore_!" he cried out, catching her as she began to crawl away from him and pinning her down once again. "Do you know what I'm capable of?!" he asked, hitting her in the face the way he had before. He leaned in to her again, the blood from the scratches on his cheeks dribbling down. "_I_ don't even know what I'm capable of."

Ever-defiant, Cassidy leaned up as well and spit in his face. He recoiled and she took the moment to sneer at him, "Everything we ever did was a mistake. _You_ are a mistake."

Wasting no more time with her, he grit his teeth and slammed himself into her as far as their bodies would allow. She cried out and shut her eyes, trying to free her hands - struggling in any way below her waist would only add to his sick pleasure. His free hand moved up underneath her uniform, pulling one cup of her bra down and gripping what was concealed beneath. He moaned at her gasp of pain, pulling completely out of her only to thrust back in again the same way he had before.

All she knew was pain, her cheek starting to sting from his smack, amplified more by the presence of his rings on his fingers. Glaring up at him through teary eyes, an automatic reaction to the pain running through her body at the moment, she hissed at him, "I'm telling Butch _everything_."

Giovanni laughed, starting to breathe heavier with another hard thrust. "And why would he believe you?" He dug his nails into the flesh of her breast, speeding up his pace yet still hitting her hard and deep inside. A twisted smile spread on his lips at the sound of her pain. "After everything you've done, what a conniving little _bitch_ you are, what would _ever_ make him believe you?" he teased, laughing again at the sight of a tear running down her afflicted cheek.

The loud _slam!_ of the front door made both of them jump, Cassidy's eyes widening in horror at her partner's presence. Giovanni kept the smile on his face, still chuckling, locking eyes with him and entering her again. Shutting her eyes, she let the tears fall not for herself or what he was doing to her - but for Butch having to see it.

"I'd believe her because you're a sick son of a bitch," Butch said coldly, dropping his shopping bag to the floor.

Giovanni turned his head to look just in time to get punched in the nose. He yelled out and fell backward, gingerly touching another part of him that was bleeding. Punching him again, in the jaw this time, Butch kicked him away from her for emphasis.

Clutching his face, body curled in the fetal position for some sense of protection, Giovanni angrily said, "I'll kill you, too!" Pausing for a growl, he added, "Just like I did your useless lump of a father."

Staring at him for a brief moment, Butch only blinked once before yelling and getting on top of him, hitting him repeatedly in the face. Cassidy came over to them and wrapped her arms under his, trying to pull him away, begging him to stop. He did - only at her pleas - and stood in front of her, blocking her from Giovanni's view. "Get out before I break your fucking dick!"

Shakily he stood, groaning in pain, zipping himself back up. Heading for the door, he looked back at them and declared, "You fools have no idea what you've just done."

Butch took a menacing step toward him and yelled, "I said _get out_!"

The door slammed and he quickly went to lock it, pausing for a minute after only to go grab a kitchen chair and position it under the knob. Slowly he turned and looked at his partner, breathing heavily and letting the wild rage inside him burn itself out.

She stood, leaning against the couch, her eyes meeting his. Swallowing down the growing lump in her throat, she started hoarsely, "I can explain -"

He shook his head and slowly made his way over to her, gently placing a hand against her bruising cheek. "I don't care. I don't care why. I don't care how. It doesn't give him the right to come in here..." he trailed off, turning away from her and running both of his hands through his hair. "Fuck. _Fuck_!" He punched a couch cushion in frustration, throwing it down on the floor. "I should've killed him. I should've just fucking beat him to death, the piece of -"

"Butch..." she interrupted, voice shaky now as well. She looked at him, eyes filled with uncertainty and a few leftover tears.

Swallowing hard, he went back over to her, placing his hands gently on her cheeks and using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "I'm so sorry, Cass. God," he said, voice cracking, resting his forehead against hers and shutting his eyes. "I'm just so sorry."

She shook her head a little, mimicking him and placing her hands on his cheeks as well. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I mean, if you hadn't shown up -"

"Don't," he said, opening his eyes and looking into hers. They stood together, caressing each others faces, blinking the only thing that deterred their gaze. Suddenly he dropped his hands, saying quietly, "We should take you to the infirmary...or a hospital...or _something_..."

Cassidy glanced down, lowering her hands from his face as well. "And say what? We can't just..." she trailed off for a minute before continuing, "No one that works here would dare do anything. You know that. And anyone out there...we're Team Rocket, Butch. No one cares what happens to us."

Tightening his jaw, he said, "I don't accept that."

She turned around and slowly started for the bedroom, wincing at the pain between her legs, her chest, face, and wrists. Even her ankles were sore and likely bruised through her boots.

Butch followed her and stopped her, holding out his arms. "Let me carry you." She nodded a little, still pained when he lifted her into his arms. He placed her on her bed and carefully got in it with her, looking down with slight shock when she curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, careful not to hurt her any more than she already was.

"Your heart's pounding, Butch. Please stop being so angry about -"

"It's not because of that," he said quickly, one hand running through her hair. "It's you."

She bit the inside of her lip, fingers clutching at his black jacket. "I'm fine."

He shook his head. "I know you are. You're tough. Tougher than me. Tougher than almost anybody."

Cassidy smiled a bit more, shutting her eyes and listening to the fast-paced beating of his heart.

With a deep breath, he said, "It's you, Cass. I don't want you to be hurt. It...it's killing me inside and I would do anything to have spared you all of this." Shakily, he let the breath out and closed his eyes as well. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad, I'm just fucking awful at this."

"You don't have to say anything."

"Yeah, I do...I have to say this." After a pause, he quietly continued, "I've been a shitty partner for a long time now...but it's going to stop. It's stopping right now. I know you don't..._need_ me to protect you but..." He tilted his head down and softly kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger as he spoke, "Never again, Cass. I'll kill them myself before anyone gets the chance to hurt you again."

She smiled and let out a soft sigh, the pain and turmoil that dwelled just under the surface effectively rendered meaningless. Reaching up, she brushed her lips against his neck before settling in against his body, fingers still gripping his jacket.

He smiled a little, getting goosebumps from her kiss, letting everything about her slowly melt away any residual anger he felt - for the time being, at least.

* * *

><p>His head throbbing, the blood from the scratches on his face drying to a dark red, Giovanni let himself into his rebuilt penthouse and immediately went for the liquor cabinet. He never thought either of them would have it in them to stop him - Butch especially. The only thing that surprised him about Cassidy's reaction was how quickly she melted when her partner walked in. It seemed that he'd greatly underestimated how much she cared about him, causing him to wonder what else he'd been wrong about in the past few months - namely, Miyamoto.<p>

He put thoughts of her out of his head and focused on both his drinking and his plan for revenge. He had a vague idea of what he would do to ruin his top agents' miserable lives but unfortunately, it hindered on Dr. Namba making any kind of progress with his research. This was why he so loathed counting on anyone but himself to take care of things; even the agents that were once his best assassins were now struggling to accomplish even the most menial of tasks. He was always inevitably let down both personally and professionally, it seemed.

Simply killing Butch and Cassidy or sentencing them to hard, truly pointless labor wasn't enough for the indignities he had to endure. Torture was always a good option but who had the energy for that anymore? Giovanni didn't want blood stains smeared across the new headquarters yet, anyway. Mental torture seemed much more fitting - if only that idiot Namba could make it work.

Hearing the penthouse door behind him click shut, he took another swig of booze right from the bottle and turned to see that his day was only getting better and better. "Back so soon?"

Miyamoto frowned as she walked toward him, arms crossed. "What the fuck happened to you?"

Giovanni shrugged slightly, looking at her through hooded eyes. "A project gone awry. It's been taken care of."

"Unfortunately, you haven't," she replied, walking past him into the bathroom.

He continued to drink, watching as she returned with a wet washcloth and stood in front of him expectantly. "Has the Orange Island headquarters really been squared away so soon?" Eyes narrowing as she grabbed the bottle from him and set it back on the cabinet, he continued, "Or did you simply miss me too much to stay away?"

She rolled her eyes and began dabbing at the wounds on his face with the washcloth. "Yes, it's all been taken care of." Pausing for a moment, she then added, "And, for what it's worth, yes - I suppose I _did_ miss you. My day isn't complete without you belittling me or smacking me around for one stupid thing or another."

He eyed her, wincing as she continued to tend to his injuries. Miyamoto was the only person that he'd never been disappointed by. She was insufferable at times and he often let that get the best of him, but she was never anything but straightforward with him. What negative feelings he felt toward her in the past were only the result of her fighting back against him - rightfully so, most of the time.

Whether it was the drinking, the pain, or the fact that his most primal urges _still_ weren't satisfied, Giovanni said quietly, "It's easier to be a bastard than it is to trust anyone when most of your life was nothing but a series of elaborate tricks and lies."

Miyamoto raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that...something of an apology? Coming from _you_?"

Leaning back against the cabinet, he laughed softly to himself. "Ever since I sent you away, the speed at which things have gone downhill rivals that of the speed of light, I'm sure."

"Don't be so dramatic."

Looking up at her with a heavy sigh, he met her eyes with his and admitted, "I wish I were."

"So..." she began, setting the washcloth on the cabinet, "I take it that this whole situation," she said, gesturing to his face, "was a direct result of that downward spiral?"

"Yes, I'm afraid someone did beat you to the punch, Miyamoto."

"Literally," she smirked, grabbing the bottle of liquor and taking a swig herself before offering it to him. "I hope you realize that I'm taking all of this to mean that you're a fucking moron and can't live without me and will only _ever_ raise your hand to me again if you plan on doing something sexy with it."

He took a drink from the bottle as well, using the sleeve of his jacket to wipe his lips after. "You truly are one of a kind."

"Irreplaceable."

Giovanni smirked as she took another drink, watching as she downed it like a champ with a stomach made of iron. "I'm realizing that."

She shrugged slightly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "For what it's worth...you're in a category all your own, too. For better or for worse."

"Is that your way of saying that you can't live without me, either?"

Raising an eyebrow at him, she set the bottle back down and grabbed the washcloth again. "Oh, no. I can." She turned on her heel and started for the bathroom, stating over her shoulder, "It just wouldn't be nearly as exciting."


	26. Better Left Forgotten

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Domino took a deep breath, gathering up all of her courage to knock on the door in front of her, cringing afterward. She hoped against hope that <em>they<em> weren't there and that she could talk to Mondo in private. It was unimaginable that he had to live with them simply because they were his sisters. Who knew what kind of ditzy crap her poor crush had to endure day in and day out? If they weren't underage, she was sure that she could convince the boss to let Mondo move in with her. He was such a gentleman that they likely wouldn't end up sleeping together until their wedding night...

The sound of the door opening made her heart skip a beat; the person that stood in the doorway made her wish she had skipped lunch. "_Annie_," she grumbled as a greeting.

Her long blonde hair was down, reaching just past her rear. A few feet away, inside the apartment, Oakley sat on the couch peering over the back of it, a devilish grin appearing on her face upon seeing who it was.

Before Domino could say anything, the two sisters called out in a sing-song tone to their little brother, "_Mooondo! _Your _girlfriend's_ here!"

"I'm not his girlfriend," she mumbled in annoyance, adjusting her beret to try to hide the fierce blush creeping up into her cheeks. Mondo and his developmentally challenged sisters were the only Rockets that ever saw 009 in such a state. Maybe if this mission went well she could talk the boss into shipping those two off to the ends of the Earth somewhere. Then it could be just her and Mondo, uninterrupted...

He stopped at the end of the hallway, his own blush tinting his tanned face pink. "Hi - hi, Domino," he said nervously, ducking his head as he walked past his laughing blue-haired sister and to the door. Not looking up, he said quietly, "I got it, Annie. Thanks."

She joined her little sister on the couch, laughing as well, the sound echoing through the corridor of the fifth floor until Mondo slammed the door shut behind him, silencing the cackling.

"So...um...this is unexpected," he said, laughing slightly. "I - I mean, not that it's a _bad_ kind -"

Domino put her hand over his mouth and smiled, shaking her head. "You need to learn to quit while you're ahead." Dropping her hand, she bit her lower lip and darted her eyes away from him and down the hall. "I, um. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going on this big, important mission for the boss."

Mondo blinked and then smiled, replying enthusiastically, "Hey, that's great! Congratulations!"

He was so sweet...not that fake kind, either; genuinely sweet and he seemed to genuinely care about her. Maybe not in the same way she did him but that was okay! Well...it was _tolerable_, at least.

Shifting her weight awkwardly, she continued, "Thanks...but I really wanted to see you before I went just in case something happened."

Frowning, he took a step closer to her. "What? What could happen?"

She shrugged slightly, poking at the floor with the toe of her boot. "Anything, I guess. If I could tell you about it I would but you know how the boss is."

He nodded, still frowning. "Well, I'm really glad you came to see me, then. Even though I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about..."

"Oh, yeah," she said, waving her hand in the air, "you know. I'm great and everything so I'm not too worried. I just wanted to...um."

"...Say 'see you later'?" Mondo offered.

"Sorta," Domino replied and before the object of her affection knew what had hit him, her lips were pressed against his. It wasn't the sexiest or most romantic kiss in the world but it was with Mondo and that was all that mattered to her.

After she pulled away just as quickly as their lips had met, Mondo stared at her wide-eyed, the hint of a glittery gloss on his lips from her. He didn't know what to do and there she stood, seemingly just as embarrassed as he was, probably waiting for him to tell her that everything was okay...and it _was_ okay. It was very okay.

Much to her shock and delight, Domino got a taste of her own medicine and lip gloss when Mondo brushed his lips against hers, the tingly feeling that it sent through her body leaving much too quickly after he pulled back. They both stood wordless and motionless, looking at each other and slowly smiling.

Hearing a fit of giggles from inside the door, both Mondo and Domino looked to the noise and scowled. Without thinking, Domino stated, "Your sisters are a pain in the ass."

Mondo laughed a little and nodded, turning his attention back to 009. "At least you don't have to live with them."

The smiles returned to their faces and they took up their gazing at each other where they had left off, only having it broken by a beeping noise - Domino's wristwatch. She sighed and bit her lip again. "I gotta go."

"Yeah, sure. Right," he said, sticking his hands into his back pockets. "Be careful, Domino."

She shrugged a little, winking at him as she turned to leave. "Always am!"

Inhaling sharply, Mondo spoke almost too fast for her to understand - almost, "When you get back, you don't have to correct my sisters when they call you my girlfriend."

* * *

><p>"Why is it that every time we try to do the right thing we end up the same way we would if we were being bad in the first place!" Jessie huffed, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging them there, resting her chin on her knees.<p>

"I consider it practice for blasting off," James replied, resting his head back against the steel bars of their cave confines. "Maybe we would've drowned a long time ago if we didn't have that experience with Lugia to go off of!"

"You mean falling into the ocean and by some miracle washing up on shore? Oh, yeah," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "we're regular fucking Dewgong, we are."

"Well, look on the bright side: this time we're well out of the way of all the danger through no cowardice of our own!"

"Instead we got captured by a bunch of renegade Pokemon. I don't see how that's much better."

"To be fair, they _were_ clones," James argued, blowing the same single strand of hair from his eyes.

"What does that even _mean_, anyway? Like there aren't enough Pokemon in the world to go around or something? And what was that..." She made a face and gestured with her hand, searching for the right word but deciding on, "_thing_ with the telepathy and child-bearing hips?"

"Maybe it's a cloning experiment gone wrong." James bit his lip and glanced down at his lap, saying softly, "None of those Pokemon would be in trouble and feel so awful about the world and humans if it weren't for Team Rocket, you know."

"You don't know that," she retorted, turning her head away from him.

"What are you talking about? You know that the boss has a whole staff of scientists and laboratories all over the world...it can't be just a coincidence that he comes after a bunch of cloned Pokemon. He probably did it himself."

"Or he found out about it and just wants them for himself. It doesn't mean he created them."

Wrinkling his nose, James stood and wiped the dirt off his pants before looking down at her. "Why are you defending him?"

"I'm not," she said, glancing up at him. "We shouldn't jump to conclusions. That's all. And besides, why would he enlist _Domino_ of all people for a mission like that? Going and capturing rare Pokemon is one thing but trying to capture one you created that probably doesn't like you very much is something else all together." Sitting back and crossing her arms, she scowled. "And Domino is _so_ not that good."

"She seemed pretty...uh..."

"She _seemed_ like a fucking troll. I mean really, this is Jessie, James, and Meowth back in the killing-people-in-alleys days stuff! No kid her age is capable of handling the big, meaty stuff." She snorted to herself, resting her head back against the bars and shutting her eyes. "_I_ could barely handle the big, meaty stuff."

"Domino's nuts, though," James said, going over to the bars and peering out, looking for any sign of Meowth - even Pikachu at this point. "And I think she's practically grown up in Team Rocket."

"What?" Jessie said, opening her eyes and looking up at him. "Where'd you hear that?"

James shrugged and looked back down at her. "Mondo. I guess Domino helped train him to be an assistant. He said that she said she was an exception to the 'little kid' rule that the boss has...or..._had_, I guess...and that she was the youngest agent in the history of Team Rocket. Mondo won't be eligible for that for another year or two and the only reason the boss even let him into Team Rocket at all was because he wanted Mondo's sisters - they're some super-spies or something like that."

Jessie blinked up at him. "Where the hell was I when Mondo talked about this?"

"Jessie," James said with a small smile, "he can barely move around without walking into a wall or tripping over his own feet when you're around. He'd be way too shy to tell you any of this!"

She scowled again and stood up, poking him in the chest. "All right, so then why didn't _you_ tell me?"

"I...I guess I never thought it would come up?" he offered, laughing nervously.

"Well, what do we have here?" The two Rockets jumped as the cell door was flung open, clanking against the bars, the sound echoing throughout the cave. "Some rare and valuable Pokemon?"

Jessie narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists. "You know very well we're not Pokemon!"

"Oh, that's right," Domino said, tapping her finger against her chin. "I was mistaken. Team Rocket agents are as useless as you are rare; but they certainly are not very valuable!"

James narrowed his eyes as well. "Are you going to help your fellow team members and let us out or are you going to make snarky remarks all day?"

Domino snorted. "_Fellow team members_? I wouldn't insult the Zubat by saying that you were its fellow team members, let alone myself!" She turned on her heel just in time to miss James grabbing Jessie to keep her from lunging at the younger agent. "I happen to have a very special job for the both of you - a job where your talents will be put to their best use yet."

* * *

><p>Jessie and James exchanged looks with each other, gesturing with their heads and hands to the other to speak up. Non-violence not getting the desired results, Jessie smacked James in the back of the head resulting in a cry of, "Ow! <em>Jessie<em>!"

She smiled and crossed her arms in triumph, nodding her head in Meowth's direction. James sighed and took a step toward their friend, hands in his pockets. Biting his lip and ducking his head, James asked, "Are you okay, Meowth?"

Letting out a heavy sigh of his own, Meowth remained seated on the ground, looking up at the bright moon above them. "Been betta."

"Do you want to...um...talk about it?"

"Ain't nothin' to talk about." He lowered his golden eyes from the sky to the dirt in front of him. "I knew humans was capable of some real crummy stuff - dat's pretty much all Team Rocket does is crummy stuff, after all - but I neva tought dat dey'd tink so little of Pokemon to use dem for experiments and like a weapon made for takin' ova da world. And I dunno why but," he looked up at the moon again, wondering where his friend Meowtwo was at that moment and if it was looking up at the same moon in the same sky, "I neva tought da boss was like dat neither. I always figured dat bein' a rare Pokemon was like a compliment and dat bein' brought to da boss was a privilege...and I didn't undastand why I wasn't rare enough or good enough to be top cat." Furrowing his brow and frowning, whiskers drooping, he said, "I get it now, dough...ain't no Pokemon good enough for da boss. He's gotta mess wit' nature and make his own - and even den he's gotta use all dat power for himself." Sighing again, he stood, tail flicking back and forth. "If it weren't for youse twos, I'd wish dat I neva joined Team Rocket at all."

Jessie and James looked at each other sadly, Jessie stepping forward to stand with James closer to Meowth. "But you stood up to him and to all of those grunts...and because of that, all of those Pokemon are safer and happier and maybe even feel a little more accepted in the world," Jessie said, smiling at James as he took her hand and squeezed it.

"Yeah...maybe..." Meowth shook his head and turned to face his teammates. "Don't worry about Meowth! I'll be fine. Just stinks when yer whole purpose is called inta question, dat's all."

"You should never question that," James said. "Your purpose is to just be Meowth."

"Whatever that means," Jessie said playfully.

Looking up at his friends, Meowth smiled, his teary eyes glistening in the moonlight until he rubbed them away with the back of his paw. "Youse twos ain't like nobody else in Team Rocket."

"Yeah, we're failures," she retorted.

"I don't mean dat!...Dough, yeah, we are. I mean ya don't act like dat awful girl Domino or even da grunts, not carin' 'bout anyting but da bottom line. And maybe dat's why we ain't so good at what we do but I'd rather have a heart and be a loser den be like da boss!"

"Well, the boss is a loser today, too," James said with a grin.

"In a pretty spectacular way, too," Jessie added.

Jumping up on James's shoulders, he tugged lightly at his hair and pointed out over the horizon. "Den let's get dis show on da road! I tink I gotta have a real long chat wit' Mondo 'bout his choice in ladies."

* * *

><p>"So, how did your mission go?" Miyamoto asked, leaning against the bed frame.<p>

Giovanni laid sprawled out on his monstrous satin-covered bed, attempting to nurse a migraine the likes of which he'd never experienced before - and hoped never to experience again. "I have no idea," he said to her shortly.

Raising an eyebrow as he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, she sat down on the edge of the bed near his feet. "How's that now?"

Letting out a long, annoyed sigh, he responded, "The last thing I remember is screwing you and then getting ready to leave -" Opening one eye, he glanced down at her and smirked slightly. "And you made that very difficult, as I recall, strutting around here in my shirt and nothing else."

She shrugged. "What can I say? It gives me a kick." Scooting up closer to him, she placed her hand on his chest and frowned down at him. "If you can't remember what was such an important, secretive mission then maybe you should see a doctor. Did you ever think of that?"

He shook his head slightly and made a face at the increase in pain the movement caused. "It couldn't have been that important if I don't remember anything about it. Besides," he said, placing his hand over hers, "I wasn't the only one that it happened to, which leads me to believe it was an attack that was either misused or went rogue."

"Oh, yeah. Of course. It was an attack that was executed improperly so _obviously_ everything's completely fine with _that_ scenario."

"Well, it did give me an idea for a new project..."

Miyamoto rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away from his, crossing her arms. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Giovanni smirked once again, lifting his hand to brush stray strands of her purple hair out of her eyes. "Not to worry - unlike my other plans, I don't have to be so..."

"Obsessed?" she offered.

"Fine. Yes. _Obsessed_. I'm leaving it in the hands of our scientists and Dr. Namba, foolish though that may be."

"And I'm guessing that, as per usual, I'm going to be left in the dark about this one as well?"

He raised an eyebrow, wincing at the pain that once again shot through his head like an arrow. "Would you really want to know what goes on in the laboratories? Knowing that there was nothing you would be able to do to stop anything that you found horrendous?"

She sighed softly and shook her head, looking away from him. "Just promise me something."

"I'll try."

Glancing back over at him, a small smile appeared across her lips. "Don't become a super-villain and try to take over the world with your crazy inventions, yeah?"

He couldn't help but smile back, dark and pained eyes softening to look into hers. "We both know that it's much too late to make that promise, Miyamoto."


	27. Seeing Red

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>Most people would say that there was never a dull moment in the illustrious criminal organization that was Team Rocket; those people weren't stuck on desk duty, answering phones and responding to various inquiries, sending emails and faxes, updating the list of desired Pokemon...all especially mind-numbing for someone who was once able to maneuver her way through a hallway of security lasers without tripping a single one. Jessie was the best thing that had ever happened to her but after she was born, Miyamoto was lucky that she could still walk - let alone twist her body like a pretzel.<p>

With Giovanni out of commission for the day with another monstrous migraine, the boredom grew ten-fold and tempted Miyamoto to stab herself in the eye with a pencil just to make sure she was still alive - if anyone could work an eye patch, it would be her. Instead, she opted to sit back in her chair and prop her feet up on the desk before dumping out the small box of paper clips next to her legs and starting a chain of them. Picking one up and bringing it to her face, she closed one eye and inspected it, wondering if she still had the ability to twist the things into something of a master key. She was more adept at doing it with bobby pins and barrettes but she'd managed to fashion a paper clip or two into something useful before as well.

In the middle of her ever-so-important task, a call came through on the video phone, causing her to jump a mile and knock several free paper clips on the floor. "Son of a -" she grumbled, spinning in the chair. She took no great effort to make herself look the slightest bit presentable before hitting a button on the phone and watching the screen come to life with a dark green-haired girl, the name escaping Miyamoto at the moment despite knowing that it was one she probably should have known.

"Matori? Hi, it's Wendy from human resources!"

Ah, right. More often than not she forgot a place like Team Rocket even _had_ a human resources department. "Hello, Wendy," she replied, plastering her best and hopefully most convincing smile on her face. "How can I help you today?"

"Oh, well...I was hoping to talk to Giovanni."

Miyamoto raised an eyebrow and leaned on the desk, resting her head on her hand. "He's sick today. Any and all questions are to be handled by me. So what's the problem?"

Wendy balked at the response, unsure if the boss's secretary was telling the truth or blowing smoke to make her importance seem much greater than it actually was. Quickly, she explained, "Oh, I was going through some accounts and found a few that were delinquent and wanted to know how the boss would like to proceed." Waving her hand in dismissal, she smiled nervously. "I can always call back."

She shook her head and sat up straight again, a sudden prickling on the back of her neck making her ask, "Whose accounts?"

She couldn't help but snort, crossing her arms and narrowing her gaze simply at the thought of having to speak her name. "_Jessie_, James, and that freak Meowth of theirs, of course."

Biting the inside of her lip, Miyamoto darted a glance to Giovanni's office door, knowing full-well that he wasn't inside but unable to stop herself. "How much do they owe?"

"I can send it over right now."

Seconds later a file appeared on Miyamoto's screen, detailing every bit of money they had borrowed down to the last cent - and it wasn't simply petty cash, either. "How can they afford to survive?" she wondered aloud.

Wendy raised her eyebrows. "Obviously they can't. That's why they're in so deep." Pausing for a moment, the younger girl glanced around her in the same paranoia Miyamoto had. "No one has ever been this delinquent on their payments before...but the ones that _have_ tried to screw the company out of money were terminated."

Jerking her head to look at the screen once again, Miyamoto's eyes widened slightly. "_Terminated_?" It wouldn't exactly be the first time Giovanni had flippantly taken a life, all to maintain the glory of Team Rocket - whatever _that_ was.

She nodded, tucking her short hair behind her ears only to have most of it fall back over her face again. "Giovanni told us to mark them as 'expired' and therefore no longer part of the organization."

Groaning softly, Miyamoto put her head in her heads and shook it. "I wish I could say that I can't believe he would have former trusted members of Team Rocket killed but -"

"What?" Wendy interrupted, a confused look on her face. "They were effectively _fired_. No more access to any Team Rocket funds, no entry into any of the headquarters...their keys would be rendered totally useless, anyway."

She lifted her head and blinked at the girl who was now giving her a look of uneasiness. Laughing slightly, she sat back in her chair and tried to give her another smile. "Oh, right. Of course! I was only kidding." Taking one more glance at Giovanni's door, she told Wendy, "Do that, then. Remove them from Team Rocket effective immediately. If that's how Giovanni treated the others then we'll continue to do the same."

"But the amount of money they owe -"

"- Will be made up in no time once they aren't here to continually drain the organization of its cash." Noticing the frown on her face and sudden air of annoyance she felt even through the screen, she narrowed her eyes and said sternly, "Giovanni has put _me_ in charge while he's ill. What I tell you to do should be taken as direct orders from the man himself." Leaning on the desk again, she let out a heavy, dramatic sigh and looked up at the ceiling as she continued in a teasing tone, "I mean, if you _want_ me to tell him that you purposely disobeyed orders and were a general brat about the whole thing, just tell me and we can end this discussion right here and now."

"Of course I don't want that! I'm not disobeying orders!" Wendy protested before furiously typing away on her computer. "All right, all right. Okay. They're officially civilians again." Lowering her voice, she hunched her shoulders slightly and looked down at her desk. "Please don't tell Master Giovanni that I was rude to you. I'm very sorry and it will never happen again."

"Sure, okay. Whatever. Thanks!" she said cheerfully, hitting another button on the phone and disconnecting the call.

As the screen went blank, she rested back in her chair and tilted her head back, swiveling from left to right and back again. He certainly couldn't get upset with her for going by his own example...well, he _could_ but it would be a ridiculous point to argue. Jessie wasn't a little girl anymore; she was a young woman who didn't need her estranged parents to look out for her - especially given the fact that she didn't even know they were alive in the first place. The whole point of letting her into Team Rocket was to keep her safe but, as it turned out, Team Rocket was the thing putting her in danger to begin with. Maybe now she could go on to become any - or all - of the things she dreamed about when she was little.

Miyamoto smiled a little and let out a soft sigh. "I'd rather she be free than me."

* * *

><p>Slamming the phone down into Wendy's ear on the other end of the line, Giovanni clenched his teeth and used his fist to hit the button on the intercom to summon Miyamoto; to think that he thought he could trust her - that she was the <em>only<em> one he could trust. He should've known better. What a fool he was to think that she could possibly be any different than the other women that had graced his life with their presence. Miyamoto probably learned all of her deceitful behaviors from his mother, anyway.

Walking into the room, Miyamoto squinted at the darkness, closing the door behind her. The only light came from a large screen behind his desk and sunlight bouncing off the curtains that were pulled over the windows to keep it at bay. Cautiously, she walked toward the desk and fought the urge to kick the growling Persian that sat next to him right in the ass.

"And you're sitting in the dark...why, exactly?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"My _head_, Miyamoto. Why else do you think?" he spat in reply, prompting her to drop her arms to her sides. "And it's suddenly gotten much worse."

She sighed, disappointed that the reign of the slightly nicer Giovanni she preferred was seemingly over. "What's going on?"

"It's the funniest damn thing," he began, teeth still clenched, "apparently our daughter's membership expired. Does that strike you as _odd_, Miyamoto?"

Groaning, she rolled her eyes, feeling slightly more comfortable with dishing his shit back to him. She'd been prepared for this blow-up for weeks. "I only did what that human resources girl said _you_ did in similar cases. If you want to chew someone out, start with yourself."

"What is _wrong_ with you?!" he cried angrily, placing his hands on his desk and quickly standing from his chair to hover menacingly over her. "She's special. There are only a few things that could _ever_ make me kick her out of Team Rocket and borrowing money that's rightfully hers in the first place is _not_ one of those things."

"What did you want me to do, Giovanni?" she asked, tossing her arms up in the air. "If I told her to forget it, she would get suspicious; so I tell her to fire them and you freak the fuck out at me!"

"You do _nothing_!" Slamming his fist against the desk, he glared at her, undeterred by the sharp pain in his head and hand. "Leave it for me to handle. It's _my_ organization, it's _my_ money, and she's _my_ daughter."

"Really," she said flatly, arms crossing again. "So I guess she simply _showed up_ from the fucking cabbage patch one day all on her own, right?"

"Oh, don't give me that garbage," he said, sitting back down. "If you didn't want to deal with child-birth then you shouldn't have kept her."

Her jaw dropped slightly, angry eyes changing to disbelieving ones. "How can you say that?" she asked softly. "How can you think for a single second about never having Jessie?"

"I've thought about it for several seconds, Miyamoto." Rubbing his eyes with his fingers, he let out a pained groan. "We were children ourselves. You can't stand there on your pedestal and tell me that you never _once_ wondered what it would've been like had you remained my mother's star agent." He snorted slightly and rested his head back against the plush leather of his chair. "More likely than not, _you_ would be the boss, wouldn't you? You don't think about that? When you're at that desk out there taking my orders, helplessly sitting there as Jessie endures failure after failure? You never consider for _one moment_ how different things could've been?"

Darting her eyes away from him and to the floor, she replied, "Yes...yes, I have." Looking back up at him, her resolve returning, she stated, "But I have never, _ever_ regretted having her."

"Nor do I. After all," he said, closing his eyes, "if it weren't for her, Team Rocket wouldn't be _mine_."

Her own jaw clenched in anger, she yelled a name that consisted entirely of vulgarities and lunged at him across the desk, slapping him in the face. "You're a worthless piece of _shit_, Giovanni!"

Wincing from the pain that now encompassed his entire head, he quickly grabbed her wrist and snarled at her in a low tone, "Not as worthless as you, my darling."

* * *

><p>The look of pure misery combined with shame was one that Giovanni wasn't very fond of seeing; he was even less fond of the shackles around his agent's wrists, the intermittent clanging of metal against metal giving him a bigger headache than any of Tyson's pathetic excuses and cowardice. The only thing of interest to him was the mention of a kid with a Pikachu and his friends helping Lance the "Dragon Master" of the Elite Four throw a wrench in their plans; and then, of course, the subsequent fly by remark that the three idiot rookies he'd enlisted to do some of the dirty work loosened their fair share of screws as well before the wheels came flying off.<p>

Angry about all the research and hard work going down the drain (and the less-than-flattering words he had for his only daughter), Giovanni treated Tyson much the same way the high-ranking agent had Jessie, James, and Meowth by promising to get him released from jail; he was given a time-frame for freedom that was vague at best and then promptly hung up on.

Professor Sebastian had escaped and was currently en route back to Viridian City to give his account of what happened and what - if anything - he learned in regards to Project R. There had been two different instances where he was asked by Sebastian and Dr. Namba, respectively, why he was so seemingly obsessed with "modifying" Pokemon - such as his disastrous attempts at cloning the most powerful to the various experiments involving brain waves and the effects of this, that, or the other thing on Pokemon and their mood, behavior, and even evolution. The fact that two supposed "genius" scientists had to ask such a question prompted Giovanni to hire a third scientist by the name of Zager who seemed ready and willing to call the other two out on the stupidity that had reigned down in the secret laboratory until his arrival.

Giovanni wanted powerful Pokemon without having to do any of the work - time was money, after all, and he wasn't about to waste said time with training when it was possible to provoke evolution and gain power much more quickly. At one point, he considered taking over the world region by region; now, he was much more concerned with making money so he could continue to pay off almost every member in the community of Viridian City that was in good-standing, fund his special projects that had since taken an even darker turn, and continue to "lend" Jessie and her idiot partners all the money they needed without crashing into the red. If his still-confusing experience with Mewtwo had taught him anything, it was that he wasn't ready to handle a Pokemon with that kind of power - and if he couldn't do that, then how would he ever gain and keep control of the world? At least that abomination was good for _something_ other than destroying his headquarters and laboratory.

He couldn't help the amusement he felt as he sat back in his chair and wondered if his son had thought anything was amiss at the lake besides the angry, red Gyarados. It truly hadn't been his intention to set up base by the very lake where Butch and Cassidy dumped the body of the only father Ash had ever known, it just happened to work out in a serendipitous way. Despite being told on more than one occasion that his two children were going to single-handedly bring down Team Rocket one of these days, Giovanni refused to get angry and instead got even: with those in charge of the failed missions and experiments.

Tyson was an imbecile for letting any agent of "rookie" status anywhere near Project R; more than that, the so-called "Dragon Master" could be blamed, too for his role in taking down Team Rocket's operation. Didn't members of the Elite Four have better things to do than run around and play hero?

Then there were Butch and Cassidy who were their own special kind of stupid. Narrowing his eyes, he could swear he still felt his nose throb from the punch he'd taken. His plans for them hindered on translating what they had uncovered about Pokemon brain waves to human ones. Namba was supposedly in charge of this grand project. Giovanni had little to no faith that he would be able to do a damn thing with anything they'd learned from attempting to control Mewtwo's power and the piles upon piles of research on things like the Pokemon genome and psyche; but he let him play with his little toys in the hopes that either he would end up dead at the hands of the thing he created like crazy Dr. Fuji or (unlikely though it was) actually complete what he set out to do. Either option was fine with Giovanni.

Hearing the door open behind him, he turned in his chair to face Miyamoto as she walked up to his desk and leaned against the front of it. A nail file in hand, she nonchalantly worked on her nails as she started up a conversation with him, "I heard your little monster's at it again."

Raising an eyebrow, he replied, "I assume you're referring to the boy as you've taken it upon yourself to brow-beat into me the equal responsibility we had in creating Jessie."

Miyamoto rolled her eyes. "What a bitch I am." She stopped filing suddenly and looked at him from across the desk, frowning. "Wait, Jessie wasn't around -"

"Her team of idiots were the rookie agents." Narrowing his eyes once again, he reminded her coldly, "Apparently when I allowed them back after you kicked them out, their status defaulted to the first tier on the Team Rocket ladder. I'm sure you're ecstatic."

"Why would I be ecstatic about that? Do you think I _like_ it when Jessie screws up?"

"I don't know, Miyamoto. If she does well, you're certainly always quite proud of her; but the moment she's struggling, you have to stick your nose where it doesn't belong -"

Standing from the desk, she tossed her hands in the air, exasperated. "Isn't that the fucking _point_?! You're using Team Rocket to _spy on her_! She's getting preferential treatment that would make that human resources brat drop dead on the floor! And _I'm_ the one that's butting in?" She couldn't help but laugh a little, looking back to her nails. "You get more and more delusional every day."

"And _you_ try my patience more and more every day," he growled, turning around in his chair again and putting his back to her. Pausing for a minute, he said over his shoulder, "Place Butch and Cassidy on assignment, would you?"

Snorting, she continued to file her nails. "Wouldn't _dream_ of stepping on your toes, boss."

Clenching his jaw, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath, willing himself to hold his composure. "I want them based here in Kanto. And I want you to make it _perfectly clear_ to them that they are _not_ welcome back here until they can actually do something right for a change."

"Well that's broad," she retorted, crossing her arms. "Care to give any specifics on that?"

"I'll determine on a case-by-case basis if what they bring me - if anything at all - is enough to reinstate them to the rank they once were."

Sighing, she dropped her arms to her sides and tilted her head slightly, trying to see past his gigantic chair and get a look at him. "What did they do?"

Opening his eyes abruptly, he shot back at her, "They _failed_. Miserably. Several times."

"C'mon, Giovanni..." Miyamoto began, walking around the side of the desk cautiously, "deciding on a case-by-case basis? You're sending them on a wild Pidgey chase!"

"Well, I'm certainly not going to give them an actual _assignment_. The headquarters reeks of failure enough as it is."

Stopping as she reached the back of the desk, she scanned what little of his face she could see that wasn't obscured by the back of the chair. The look on his face was dark...almost brooding; but that couldn't be. Giovanni didn't _brood_ - especially when playing games with his employees. Why he wasn't giddy as a kid on Christmas morning at the thought, she had no idea. Voice softening, she simply nodded and took a step back. "On it."

He felt a twinge of guilt followed by a flood of uneasiness as she left; she knew him too well - something that could be extremely helpful at times and very annoying at others. She knew him well enough to leave him be and stop asking questions for the moment. She also knew him well enough to know that there was a big piece to the puzzle that she was missing.

And _he_ knew _her _well enough to know that she wasn't going to let that puzzle go unfinished.


	28. Power Plays

Back to Zero

L.R.T.

* * *

><p>He couldn't help the almost hysterical laugh that came from the back of his throat, moving up and up until it was shooting out his mouth so loudly that it made Miyamoto jump in surprise. He let the humor of the moment wash over him for a few seconds more before catching his breath and resting back against his chair, one finger lifted to his eye to wipe away a laughter-induced tear. Eyebrow raised, Miyamoto crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly - a look he only caught after letting out a heavy sigh and realizing she was still in the room with him.<p>

"What is it, Miyamoto? You don't find this even the tiniest bit amusing on any level?"

Sighing as well, she began, "Well, considering the Iron-Masked Marauder -"

"Dear God," Giovanni said, shaking his head, "can we not call him that?"

"What else do you want me to call him? No one knows his real name!" she retorted.

"Call him 'the defendant'," he replied with a snort, still unable to keep his amusement under wraps.

Narrowing her eyes, Miyamoto replied, "_Fine_. He's been arrested on several counts -"

"Let me stop you there, Miyamoto," he said, leaning forward and placing his arms on his desk, hands folded, "because really and truly, I couldn't give less of a shit what happened to that imbecile."

"'That imbecile' has become one our most infamous agents! Regardless of your personal feelings toward him -"

"He _stole_ experimental Poke Balls from the lab and went off gallivanting around on his own, not taking my calls, therefore _not_ taking my orders, making him nothing less than a _traitor_," Giovanni replied in an eerily cool tone.

Putting her hands up in surrender, she sighed again and nodded slightly. "All right, all right. I get it." Miyamoto paused for a moment, crossing her arms once again in the silence, taking a deep breath and letting it out as she spoke, "I suppose you aren't interested in what he did to _get_ in such deep shit, either, then?"

Giovanni shrugged, sitting back in his chair, still-folded hands resting in his lap. "Amuse me further, if you must."

"Celebi. He captured a fucking Celebi."

Eyes widening slightly, he lifted his hands to clutch the arms of his desk chair, fingertips digging into the leather. "He _what_," he stated more than asked.

"Those experimental Poke Balls - the Dark Balls - apparently worked like a charm."

"Then how did he get caught? If a Pokemon with power like Celebi was caught and under his control -" He stopped himself mid-thought, taking note of the look on Miyamoto's face, the familiarity of it striking him immediately. "Ash," he said, rubbing his hands over his face.

"_And_ Jessie," Miyamoto added, turning her back to him and leaning against the desk. "According to the police report, the Iron-Masked -" Taking a glance back over her shoulder, she quickly corrected herself, "_the defendant_ was holding Jessie hostage. When he attacked - oh, by the way, Suicune was also there."

"Son of a _bitch_," Giovanni muttered, resting his head back against his plush seat and closing his eyes. "Continue."

"Celebi was told to attack Suicune and Ash and a friend of his. Ash and his friend fell...Jessie caught them and told them where to find Celebi."

Eyes opening, Giovanni looked at the back of her head. "She saved him?"

Miyamoto nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Apparently they were several feet in the air. A fall like that would've done anyone in. She saved his life and helped them rescue Celebi."

"Well," he said with a snort, shifting awkwardly in his seat, "I can't say that I'm very pleased about the latter."

She shrugged, standing from the desk. "I'm sure she had her reasons. Regardless," Miyamoto turned to face him, the smile still on her face, "your two kids just did something pretty amazing, if you ask me. Isn't that the most important part?"

Unable to keep from smiling slightly himself, he nodded a bit and looked away from her, refusing to let her see him that way for too long. He turned back to her just as she was making her way to the door, asking after her, "Miyamoto? Would you please see to it that our dear friend _the defendant_ gets some very, very special treatment in jail?"

Rolling her eyes, she smirked slightly as she opened the door. "Jessie's okay, I'm sure."

"As am I. I'd simply like to get the point across that we don't _use_ our own that way." Making himself comfortable once again, he shut his eyes and added as Miyamoto left, "And certainly not the boss's daughter."

* * *

><p>"So what was it like?" Meowth asked as the team floated lazily in the middle of the Lake of Life, all of their various maladies caused by years of Pikachu attacks and unceremonious crashes to the ground melting away with a warm, tingling sensation.<p>

"What kind of a thing is that to ask?" James scolded with a frown.

Shrugging, Meowth defended, "Well dat that ting was so big and scary to everyone on da outside...maybe it was nice and cozy inside of it! Like a log cabin."

"It wasn't," Jessie said flatly.

"But...you're okay, right?" James asked, tilting his head back slightly to look at her.

"Sure she's okay! Dis lake does wondas, don'tcha feel it? Didn't ya see what it did to Celebi?"

"I was _asking_ Jessie..."

Blinking slowly, taking a moment to think back on the last day and her ordeal with Celebi and the Iron-Masked Marauder, she finally responded quietly, "I am. I'm fine." Suddenly she removed herself from their tri-star, treading water briefly while she repeated herself, "I _am_ fine."

Both James and Meowth sat up as well, Meowth hopping on James's shoulders so he could stay afloat for the both of them. James eyed her worriedly, reaching for her only to be denied as she began to swim to shore.

"I didn't mean to upset her or nothin'..." Meowth said, a hint of guilt in his voice.

"I don't think it was anything you said," James replied, starting for the shore himself.

The two joined Jessie on dry land, Meowth jumping down from James's shoulder, both watching her as she wrung out her long mane. Darting her eyes to look at them and then away again, she put her back to them. "Will you two cut it out?"

"We're - we're just worried, Jess..." James said, taking a step toward her. "You can tell us anything, you know."

"Yeah, we're da last two people who should be judgin' anybody!"

"You aren't people," Jessie spat at Meowth, getting a flash of a look of hurt on his face before his eyes narrowed.

"Ya ain't so close to bein' one either, ya know!"

"Stop it, stop it!" James said, stepping between them. Sauntering off to sit on a nearby log, Meowth continued to glare at Jessie from afar while James put his attention back on her strange behavior. Placing his hands on her upper arms, he tried to catch her eye but she was making it exceedingly difficult - even for someone so adept at avoiding eye contact as himself. "You don't have to say anything. You don't have to talk about anything." He took a deep breath, squeezing her arms lightly. "But you don't have to be mean to us. We're worried. You could've been seriously injured or - or worse and I don't -"

"I _was_," she said through clenched teeth, hands balling up into fists.

"What? No...no, you're fine. Look at you!"

Pulling away from his grasp, she pointed to the water next to them. "Because I landed in the fucking lake!" She turned her head away from him and crossed her arms, shivering at the sensation of her wet gloves against her bare stomach. "I fell into the water. Then a big piece of that monstrosity came falling at me and I don't remember anything else."

"I don't understand..." he said, brow furrowed. "It sounds like you were just knocked out. We've been knocked out before...it certainly isn't fun but -"

"I think I was dead," she interrupted, swallowing hard, her fingers digging into her arms. "I think it either killed me or...or I _was_ knocked out and drowned. I can't explain it. I just _know_."

James shook his head. "No...no, that can't be true. If you had died...you were fine when we found you! You were happy and healthy and floating along -"

"Suicune." Jessie and James both turned their attention to Meowth, still sitting on the log, head now lowered and eyes closed. "It cleaned up da lake, 'memba? Not only do ya got a fancy lake dat heals people and Pokemon but now ya got one dat just got da cleansin' of a lifetime by a legendary Pokemon! It ain't outta da realm of possibilities, here, dat Jess was a goner 'til Suicune fixed da lake."

Shaking his head again, slowly this time, James swallowed a growing lump in his throat. "No...no, she was fine. I'm - I'm sure the lake helped any injuries she had but...she wasn't dead..." Turning to Jessie, he pulled her in for a tight hug, burying his face in her neck and against her wet hair. "You weren't dead!"

Wrapping her arms around him, she frowned, worried for _him_ now, one hand clutching at the back of his jacket and the other running through his hair. "Okay, okay...you're right. It's fine now. Everything's fine."

"I couldn't save you!" James cried into her skin, hair still sticking to it from their swim, his sudden onslaught of tears mixing with the clear, magical waters of the lake.

"Oh, James..."

"You weren't dead because if you were dead, it would be all my fault and I wouldn't be able to save you!" He clung to her, gripping the back of her jacket like his life depended on it, breathing becoming ragged as he spoke, "Just the thought of it...the thought of you being dead down there -" His own cries interrupted his thoughts as he slumped to his knees, still holding his partner, face pressed against her stomach until she joined him on the ground.

"Jeez, Jimmy...she's da one dat died, not you."

Jessie shot a murderous glare in Meowth's direction that immediately shut him up. Gently setting James's head against her chest, she tried to calm him down by stroking his hair and rubbing his back, reassuring him that she was all right and trying to convince him that it was likely both she and Meowth were mistaken and she had been alive all along - but it was too late. The idea had planted itself in James's head and wasn't about to die any time soon.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry that I couldn't save you," he sniffled, his breathing slowly becoming normal once again. "It was so big..." Shaking his head and squeezing out a few more tears, he countered himself, "No, no. I should've jumped when we were dangling from that blimp. I should've jumped and landed on that horrible nest and saved you. And - and unmasked that Marauder fellow, too!"

She couldn't help but chuckle, leaning down and kissing his forehead. "Well then _you_ would've been the one to die and how do you think I'd feel then? You being a silly hero and getting yourself killed just to save me."

"Why aren't you mad at me?" he asked softly, looking up at her with watery emerald eyes, tear-stained cheeks, and wet hair sticking out in every direction.

Smiling down at him, she raised an eyebrow. "For not taking stupid, dangerous, _impossible_ risks?"

"Not takin' stupid, dangerous, and impossible risks is kinda our M.O., Jimmy," Meowth chimed in, this time getting a smile of approval from Jessie.

"I don't want you to die," James said, lower lip quivering with the threat of new tears.

"I'd certainly hope not," she replied. "What kind of best friend would that make you?" Leaning in, she lightly brushed her lips against his in an effort to stop the quivering, smiling to herself when she felt it work.

"But what kind of knight of shining armor does it make me -"

"Mine," she interrupted sternly. "You're still _my _knight in shining armor. Nothing and no one will ever change that."

Swallowing hard once again, he locked eyes with her, voice becoming soft and wavering, "Are you really okay?"

"Give me a little time and I will be." Placing her hand on his cheek, she tried to offer a smile and push away the thoughts and feelings that began to bubble up inside her again at his question. "I promise."

* * *

><p>She wasn't sure how she'd managed to wriggle out of James's sleeping embrace without waking him. He had begged that they zip their sleeping bags together to form one big bag for the two of them to share and as soon as she agreed, his arms wrapped around her and hadn't let go since. This was probably going to be how they slept for some time to come.<p>

It wasn't that she minded his clinginess - well, for the time being, at least; she just wanted a little time and space of her own to work through her near-death experience. She had come to the conclusion that, even if she hadn't been killed on impact or drowned, she was certainly knocked unconscious...and being unconscious under water with no one nearby able to save you wasn't going to work out in her favor, either. She had also come to the conclusion that Meowth was right: Suicune fixing the lake, in turn, fixed her. So if she _had_ simply been unconscious because of a blow to the head, the lake would've healed it and woken her up, keeping her from drowning. That was the first thing she remembered after blacking out, after all: waking up on her back, floating in the water, the sun catching her eyes but somehow not making them hurt or feel the need to squint.

The more she thought about what had happened, the more unnerved she became. It reminded her of their meet-up gone wrong all those years ago. That had made her realize how dangerous and unpredictable their job could be and was, at the end of the day, the reason why she sat here now. Had she not taken it so hard, she never would've changed; James never would've gone to the boss; they never would've gotten the now seemingly endless gig of chasing Pikachu. That one moment had changed _everything _- what was this experience going to change?

"Nothing," she said to herself as she sat at the edge of the lake, looking out over the water that seemed to sparkle more than any other she'd ever seen. By and large, their job wasn't nearly as dangerous as it once was. In fact, she had been all but convinced that their bodies had gotten so used to the abuse they endured day in and day out that they'd actuality built up a resistance to electricity. Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of resistance for hitting the ground right smack on your ass.

"Hey," came a quiet voice from her left, lifting her out of her thoughts and making her look toward the sound.

"Hey," she replied just as quietly, looking back out over the lake as Meowth sat down on the ground next to her. "What are you doing up?"

He shrugged, looking up at the crescent moon hanging perilously above them. "Ya eva been so tired and drained dat ya can't sleep?" Glancing over at her, he quickly added, "Heh, look who I'm askin'."

Jessie looked over at him and smiled slightly, shrugging herself. "Actually, my mind is going a thousand miles an hour...way too fast to even consider sleeping."

"Can't imagine why."

Silence enveloped them as she watched him, his tail flicking back and forth in acknowledgement of her eyes on him. Biting her lip, she looked away and followed his gaze up to the moon. "I'm sorry that I said you weren't a person. Honestly, you have more humanity in you than a lot of people I've met over the years."

"I'm sorry, too," he replied with a sigh. "I'm also sorry 'bout James flippin' out on ya like dat..."

She shook her head, tilting it to the side a bit. "It's all right. I can't really be upset with him about it...I know if the shoe were on the other foot, I'd be just as much of a mess about him."

"Yeah, but...ya went through somethin' real traumatizin', Jess. Now because Jimmy's cracked in da head, yer gonna...well, do dis kinda ting."

Looking down at him, she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Dis," he said, gesturing to the area around them with his paw. "Ya close yerself up and try to handle tings on yer own."

She looked down at her lap, pulling her legs up underneath herself and resting against them. "I think it's because...I think that I'm stronger than I actually am. Nothing proved that more than today." Turning her head from her Pokemon companion, she swallowed hard, voice cracking slightly as she spoke, "We've been so lucky. I may have been starting to think that we were bulletproof...that we had some kind of crazy, unexplainable luck that kept us going." She let her eyes fall shut, two single tears falling down either cheek from them. "As much as James doesn't want me to die...as guilty and horrible as he feels...that - that's how much I don't want to die alone." Spinning around to look at him again and making the Pokemon jump at the suddenness of her movement, she continued, "I was afraid when were letting go of Lugia but...it was okay, too, because we were doing it together. I - I don't want to leave James. I don't want to leave you! I don't even want to leave Wobbuffet." As more tears ran down her cheeks, she lowered her voice even more, inaudible to human ears - but not to Meowth's, "I'm weak. I promised myself that I would never let anyone in again and now...now I have you and James and not only am _I_ afraid of being hurt, I'm afraid of hurting you two as well."

Meowth simply shook his head and crawled into her lap, curling up there and nuzzling against her body. "Den I guess we'll have to make sure we don't get split up no more."

Placing a hand gently on top of his head, she began to pet him. "I don't want to have to need anyone."

Stretching out, he looked up at her, golden eyes shining in the moonlight. "Ya can't help it, kid - yer only human."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I'm saying this," Annie said, leaning back against the elevator wall while her sister hit one of the buttons next to the doors, "but I'm actually a little nervous."<p>

Joining her sister, Oakley crossed her arms and tilted her head to look over at her, eyebrow raised. "Nervous? About seeing Giovanni?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, how long has it been since he gave us an assignment?" She paused, frowning, turning and looking over at Oakley. "You don't think he's going to end our arrangement, do you?"

"So what if he does? I'm tired of our boring old penthouse, anyway. If we were back out on our own again -"

"What about Mondo?"

Oakley rolled her eyes, stepping away from the wall and standing in front of the door as the numbers above it lit up, moving closer and closer to their destination. "He'll want to stay here with his sad little team and girlfriend, I'm sure."

"So we would just...leave him?"

"Why not? He's not a little kid anymore, Annie, and that means we don't have to sacrifice _our_ careers and waste _our_ talents to make sure he's safe and well-cared for."

With a cheery _ding!_ the elevator doors opened into the grand lobby outside of Giovanni's office. Following Oakley out of the elevator, Annie continued to protest, "But he's our _brother_."

"From another mother. Quite literally, in fact," Oakley retorted, putting her hand up to silence her older sister as they reached Miyamoto's desk.

Barely looking up from her game of solitaire, Miyamoto interrupted before either could say anything by pointing to the door with the hand that wasn't clicking away at the mouse, saying in a dull tone, "Go right in. Giovanni will see you now."

Exchanging looks with each other, Annie shrugged and the duo went to the hulking wooden door. Oakley knocked twice before slowly opening it enough to pop her head in. "Giovanni?"

He sat at his desk (which looked like it could've easily consisted of four or more of the doors they now walked through and shut behind them.) Both girls decided long ago that, while they generally despised the man, neither could deny that he had taste. The sisters went up to his desk, standing up straight with their hands folded behind their backs.

"You wanted to see us?" Oakley asked.

His back was to them, as was his Persian's as it nuzzled at his hand and purred at the pat on the head it received in response. Swirling around the reminants of ice and liquor in one of his glasses, he asked in a tone as bored as Miyamoto's had been, "Did you ever get a chance to read that book I gave you a few months ago?"

Once again the team exchanged looks, Annie's eyes wide with horror at the realization that she couldn't even remember the _name_ of the book, let alone read it. Oakley's eyes were cool and calm in return, darting back to bore a hole in the back of Giovanni's chair. "Yes. It was quite interesting, actually...though for the life of me, I can't imagine -"

"Oh, don't be so obtuse," he replied, rolling his eyes to himself. "If you aren't lying to me and you really did read the book, then you must know what I'm going to ask of you."

Oakley blinked slowly before raising both eyebrows this time, her own eyes growing wide. "I don't understand. Unless you expect us to know how to tear the thing apart and put it back together once it's brought back here, I have to tell you that the book wasn't exactly -"

"What I want you to do," Giovanni began, speaking slowly and distinctly, "is find out if what the book says is true."

"Ourselves?" Oakley asked for clarification.

"Is there anyone else in this room that you see? _Yes_, you two! You agreed to lend your services to me whenever I desired in exchange for giving you and your little brother a nice, cozy place to stay and keep food on the table." Turning around in his chair, he set his glass down on his desk, eyes narrowing at the girls in front of him. "I believe I've done more than that. He's gainfully employed, isn't he? Something I don't normally like to do with people his age but, what can I say?" Resting back in his seat, his glare continued while his mouth twisted into a smile, his face a contradiction of itself. "Your story moved me."

Nodding as she began to understand what he was asking, Oakley stated, "So you want us to give the machine a test-run."

"Precisely. If it does what the book and legend says, then its power can be harnessed and used for more important things than drowning a useless old town."

A smirk spread across her lips and she nodded once again, placing her arms at her sides now. "We will use every tool at our disposal to achieve success, Giovanni."

His smile grew, dark glare lightening up. "I expect nothing less."

"Would you like us to capture both Latios and Latias? We need one to run the machine, we might as well grab the other, as well." Oakley shrugged nonchalantly. "For funsies."

"That would be most impressive, Oakley," Giovanni said with a grin. "Use one for the machine and make sure to send the other back here to headquarters _unharmed_."

Both girls nodded and replied in unison, "Yes, Giovanni, sir."

"I'm glad we understand each other. Now get out of here. That one's," he said, pointing to Annie, "perfume is giving me a migraine."

Annie blushed slightly, laughing nervously as she started to apologize but was quickly cut off by Oakley grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her out of the office, grumbling, "I _told you_ to lay off that junk," as she did.

* * *

><p>Mondo frowned, leaning forward, so close to the video phone that his nose almost touched the screen. "But I don't understand. You two are notorious. You're the best at what you do!"<p>

"Apparently not _the best_..." Domino said from Mondo's side, scowling at the frown he gave her before turning his attention back to the video phone.

"How could you get arrested?"

"Ask your sister," they said in unison before looking at each other and narrowing their eyes.

"_You_ were the one that got all power-hungry!" Annie argued.

"But who was the one that touched the Soul Dew and made everything go haywire, _Annie_?" Oakley countered. "I always knew your attraction to shiny, pretty things would be our downfall."

Gasping, Annie stood from her seat, only her torso visible to Mondo in the view screen. "How _dare you_! If anything, it's _your_ control issues that have always been the problem!"

Standing as well, Oakley growled, the sight of her clenched fists making Mondo's eyes widen and desperately try to regain their attention - to no avail. "The only issue I've ever had is having a big sister with the mental capacity of a brain-dead Slowpoke!"

As his sisters' verbal fight escalated into a physical one, Mondo watched and groaned as they shrieked at each other and pulled each other's hair. Unable to take any more of it, he simply turned off the phone and rested his head against the machine.

Domino stepped closer to him, sliding her arm around his shoulders and resting her head atop his. "I'm sorry."

"Do you have any idea how long they'll be away for?" he asked, not moving.

She shook her head. "No, but...considering everything that happened, I can't imagine they'll be out any time soon."

Turning his head to the side, he looked back up at her. "Can't the boss do anything? He has connections, right?"

Biting her lip, she pulled back from him and glanced away, putting her hands behind her back. "The boss...the boss isn't very happy with them right now."

"I figured that much," he said with a sigh, sitting up, "but once he cools down -"

"Mondo," Domino said softly - a tone of voice seemingly reserved for Mondo and no one else, "he doesn't take too kindly to people thinking they can outsmart him or double-cross him by using the power he wanted for themselves."

"It's only because they wouldn't officially join Team Rocket," he said, getting up, going over to Domino's couch and sitting back down, crossing his arms. "It's only because they were better than any agent he has on payroll and he couldn't lock them down. Now this is his payback."

"Okay, first of all?" Domino said, walking over to the couch and standing in front of him, mimicking him and crossing her arms as well. "Don't insult your girlfriend's abilities as an agent when she just-so-happened to use her own connections to make sure you had a place to stay in the wake of your sisters' most epic of failures." Dropping her arms to her sides when he did the same and slumped down into the couch, she continued, "Second of all, your sisters aren't the only ones he's getting this kind of 'payback' on, you know. That Iron Mask guy is looking at spending the rest of his life behind bars and Giovanni isn't lifting a finger to help him. Why? Because he thought he could use Team Rocket's technology and take over the world and pull one over on Giovanni."

"And I thought Oakley had control issues..."

Letting out a sigh, unable to keep herself from smiling at the grouchiness in his voice, she joined him on the couch and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Be nice. He likes you! He never would've agreed to my idea and let us move in together if he didn't." Resting her head against his shoulder, she sighed again and shut her eyes. "You'd be out on your cute little butt and Jessie and James and that Meowth would be even more lost."

Slowly sliding his arm around her waist, he looked down at her and bit his lip slightly. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Would you be lost?"

Eyes shooting open, she lifted her head and looked up at him, a strand of blonde hair falling from her pigtails and into her face as she spoke, "Probably even more than that dopey team of yours."

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe you actually agreed to let that kid Mondo move in with 009," Miyamoto said from the bathroom, barely understandable from the toothbrush and growing foam of toothpaste in her mouth.<p>

"They're almost of age," he replied, making himself comfortable in bed. "And now I have a penthouse to give away to reward agents that are actually doing their jobs."

Spitting in the sink, Miyamoto moved into the doorway and leaned against it. "You're certainly calm, cool, and collected about all this. I thought you'd be pitching a fit that those two girls failed in their mission - not to mention the girl you've watched grow up shacking up with a _boy_, horror of all horrors."

"Domino is more than capable of handling herself." Resting back against several pillows, he glanced back at her. "You seem to forget that before Viper took her in, she was on her own on the streets."

"How could I forget that?" Moving back into the bathroom, she swished some mouthwash in her mouth and spit once again before heading back to the doorway. "She looked like the poster child for 'street urchin' when she first showed up."

Giovanni snorted, watching as she turned off the bathroom light and made her way to the bed. "And Viper raised her well since. I'm not concerned."

"That's a surprise to me, though," she said, crawling into bed next to him, the similarities between the one she currently shared with him and the one she had shared with him so many years ago never lost on her, even after all this time. "I guess I always thought you considered her..." She paused, trying to find the right words for once and not simply blurt out what she was thinking.

"You thought she was a replacement for Jessie," he finished for her, staring up at the ceiling.

Miyamoto nodded slightly. "Despite everything - the fights we've had about it, the insults and punches thrown back and forth, the stress and the tears we've cried - I _know_ that giving up Jessie and continuing to keep her at arm's length has been hard for you." Laying on her back and looking at the ceiling as well, she continued, "I know you think you're doing right by her. I also know that you have this fantasy of Jessie and Ash coming here and taking over the company and everyone being a big, happy family." She rolled over on her side, head propped up on her hand. "You want everything you didn't have growing up. You didn't want Jessie growing up in Team Rocket the way you did but you also want the whole perfect family unit thing that you were deprived of, too." A small smile came across her face, her free hand resting on his chest. "You're a very complicated man, Giovanni. You know that?"

"And yet somehow you manage to understand me and lay it all out on the table in the simplest of terms," he replied, balking for a moment before resting his hand on top of hers.

Shrugging, she tossed her long purple hair over her shoulder. "What can I say? It's what I do." Using her pointer finger to poke him twice in the chest, she changed the subject. "Really, though. Aren't you pissed off at those girls?"

Giovanni shook his head, his other arm lifting to rest behind his head, eyes still locked on the ceiling. "The truth is that the failure or success of the mission hinders nothing. I had simply grown weary of sitting, playing the waiting game while the supposed genius scientists I've employed work on my _real_ plan." Sighing, he adjusted his body against the mattress, still looking for the comfort that eluded him. "I must admit, though...it would've been quite a feather in our cap if I'd managed to get control of that machine _and_ a Latias and Latios."

Poking him again, Miyamoto asked, "So why send Annie and Oakley if it was just a throw-away mission to begin with?"

"It had been a while since I'd given them any kind of work." Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, he added, "And a little Pidgey told me that they were taking on more and more jobs outside of Team Rocket."

"I thought that was part of the deal, though. Technically they weren't members, they could do whatever they wanted. It's not like you were paying them."

"Because their payment was a place to live and food, Miyamoto," he retorted. "Throw-away mission though it was, it was also extremely dangerous and difficult. After so long without earning their keep with a mission, I thought the next one I sent them on should be...special, let's say."

"So that if they succeeded, their part of the deal was secure for however long you saw you fit and that if they failed, you'd be one penthouse up."

"You make it sound so devious, Miyamoto." He smirked slightly, rolling over onto his side now as well to face her. "I like it."

Rolling her eyes, she returned his smirk and smacked him lightly on the chest this time. "Guess I'm not so useless after all."

"You have your moments." Rolling back over, he reached to the nightstand, getting ready to turn off the light but stopping himself. Voice quiet, he looked down at the floor next to him and said, "No one could ever replace Jessie."

And with that, the room went dark.


End file.
